Background to this inspection
Updated
27 February 2020
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
One inspector and one assistant inspector carried out this inspection.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is a domiciliary care provider and the provider is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure they would be in.
Inspection site visit activity started on 18 February 2020 and ended on 20 February 2020. We visited the office location on 20 February 2020 to see people, the provider and staff; and to review care records, policies and procedures.
What we did before the inspection
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
We asked the local authority and Healthwatch for any information they had which would aid our inspection. Local authorities together with other agencies may have responsibility for funding people who used the service and monitoring its quality. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with two people who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided. In total we spoke with six staff members including four carers, hub manager and the registered manager. We also spoke with two health and social care professionals.
We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and records of medicines administration. In addition, we looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including quality monitoring checks and we confirmed the safe recruitment of staff members.
Updated
27 February 2020
About the service
The Hub is a domiciliary care agency that provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. It provides a service to children and younger adults with a physical and/or learning disability.
Not everyone using The Hub received a regulated activity. CQC only inspects the service received by people provided with 'personal care': for example, help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection 18 people were receiving the regulated activity of personal care.
The service had been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were protected from the risks of ill-treatment and abuse as the staff team had been trained to recognise potential signs of abuse and understood what to do to if they suspected wrong doing.
The provider had assessed the risks to people associated with their care and support. Staff members were knowledgeable about these risks and knew what to do to minimise the potential for harm to people.
When required, people received safe support with their medicines by staff members who had been trained and assessed as competent. Staff members followed effective infection prevention and control procedures when supporting people.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and the provider supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the application of the policies and systems supported good practice.
The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.
The provider supported staff in providing effective care for people through person-centred care planning, training and one-to-one supervision. People were supported to refer themselves to additional healthcare services, and staff supported them if required.
People received help and support from a kind and compassionate staff team with whom they had developed positive relationships. People were supported by staff members who were aware of their individual protected characteristics like age, gender and disability.
People were provided with information in a way they could understand. The provider had systems in place to encourage and respond to any compliments or complaints from people or those close to them. The provider, and management team, had good links with the local communities within which people lived.
The management team and provider had systems in place to identify improvements and drive good care.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 01/04/2019 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on our published inspection methodology.
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.