Archived: Care for Independence

At the time of our inspection Care for Independence offered support to eight people living in Derbyshire.

The service had a registered manager who was also the owner of the service. 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.

The person we spoke with felt safe. Staff were aware of the safeguarding adult procedures to protect people from avoidable harm and had received appropriate training. The registered manager told us there had been no safeguarding events in the last 12 months. Risks to people’s health were known by staff but these were not reviewed regularly.

The registered manager told us there had been no accidents or incidents to people who used the service or staff within the previous 12 months. Any accidents that did occur would be formally recorded. People received their medicines as prescribed and these were managed correctly.

Safe recruitment practices were followed. Staff received an induction when they started. Staff supervision was not being carried out regularly. There were sufficient skilled and experienced staff available to meet people’s needs.

The registered manager was aware of the Mental Capacity Act (2005). She said no one using the service was subject to any restrictions placed on them by the Court of Protection.

People received sufficient to eat and drink and their nutritional needs had been assessed and planned for. People received appropriate choices and support with their meals. People’s healthcare needs had been assessed and were regularly monitored.

Staff were kind, caring and compassionate towards the people they supported. Staff supported people with person centred care and support. The provider asked people and their relatives to share their experience about the service provided. However this was not recorded.

People and relatives told us they were involved as fully as possible in their care and support. However, records had not been always been regularly reviewed. There was a complaints policy and procedure available. No formal complaints received within the previous 12 months.

People we spoke with told us they had not raised any complaints and were happy with the service. Information was available to inform people of independent advocacy services in the service user guide.

The registered manager had carried out quality assurance audits to review the quality and safety of the service, but had not always been recorded..

People were positive about the service provided. People who used the service told us they were treated with compassion and kindness and that their privacy and dignity were respected.

People who used the service including staff felt the leadership of the service was caring and effective. Staff were able to explain the values of the service.

The provider carried out medication assessments of people who used the service. This identified what involvement the provider had with medication, what people's medication needs were, their allergies and any risks. We saw that staff recorded on medication records when people had been given medication.

We saw that staff received induction training as well as ongoing training working for the provider. A large amount of training was delivered by Derbyshire County Council and staff told us they felt the majority of the training assisted them in their role. We also saw that staff did receive supervision whilst carrying out their role.

The provider had clear systems in place to obtain feedback from all persons involved in the service as well as quality assuring their own service.

The provider kept accurate personalised care and support records secure and confidential for people who used the service.