Real Life Options - Oxfordshire

Updated 2 August 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type:

Royal Mencap Society - Oxford are a domiciliary care agency (DCA). The service provides personal care services to people with learning disabilities in supported living arrangements. This service provides care and support to people living in three supported living setting, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

The service did not have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

What we did before inspection:

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because we needed to be sure the management would be in the office. We visited the office location on 12 June 2019 to see the registered manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures.

What we did:

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service and the service provider. The registered provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We looked at the notifications we had received for this service. Notifications are information about important events the service is required to send us by law.

During the inspection:

We contacted two people and four relatives to gather their views about the support received. During the office site visit we looked at records, which included six people’s care and medicines records. We checked recruitment, training and supervision records for four staff. We also looked at a range of records about how the service was managed. We also spoke with the manager, two coordinators and three care staff.

After the inspection:

We contacted commissioners to obtain their views about the service. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 2 August 2019

About the service:

Real life Options is a domiciliary care agency (DCA). The service provides personal care services to people living with learning disabilities in supported living arrangements. At the time of our inspection eight people received personal care as the regulated activity.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found:

The service was not always well led. The service did not have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People received compassionate support from caring and committed staff. Relatives told us staff were kind and respectful and treated people with dignity and respect. Staff knew what was important to people and ensured people’s confidentiality and privacy were respected and their independence was promoted.

People were supported to access health services when required. People complimented the continuity of care provided by skilled and competent staff. Staff spoke positively about the support they received from the registered manager. Staff had access to effective supervision.

People received support that met their needs and was in line with care plans and good practice. People were supported to maintain good diet and hydration. People's rights to make their own decisions were respected.

The provider followed safe recruitment processes. Staff understood their responsibilities in relation to protecting people from the risk of harm. Where risks to people had been identified, assessments were in place and action had been taken to manage these risks. People received their medicine as prescribed.

Staff and the manager shared the visions and values of the service and these were embedded within service delivery. There were systems to assess the quality of the service provided. Learning from audits took place which promoted people's safety and quality of life.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection:

The last rating for this service was Good (published 10 January 2017).

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.