Agility Care

About the service

Agility Care is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 5 people with a learning disability and autistic people. At the time of the inspection 4 people were living in the service.

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

Right Support: People living at Agility Care were kept safe. Care plans and risks assessments were effective in keeping people safe and free from harm. We have made a recommendation around the provider's management of analysing accidents and incidents. The home met people’s individual needs and promoted people’s independence as much as possible, such as accessing the local community, shopping, household chores and visits to and from family and friends. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Right Care: People received care from staff who were patient, kind and passionate about their roles and determined to make a difference to people’s daily lives. Staff knew how to safeguard people and how to recognise and report potential abuse. People had their own care plans providing detailed guidance on how they wished to be supported. People were supported to make choices about what to eat and drink and were involved with the weekly menu planning.

Right Culture: People were supported by staff who had been recruited safely, were trained to carry out their roles effectively and who understood people’s individual care and support needs. Quality assurance audits were undertaken to monitor the quality of the service.

People and relatives were given the opportunity to provide feedback on how the service could be improved and things which were working well or not so well to enable the registered manager to make improvements where possible. Staff told us they felt supported in their roles and were able to speak up freely and openly.

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 29 March 2022). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

At our last inspection we recommended that the provider considered current best practice guidance for the safe recruitment of staff. At this inspection we found the provider had acted on our recommendation and recruitment processes had improved.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Agility Care on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

Agility Care is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to five people with a learning disability and autistic people. At the time of the inspection four people were living in the service.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Support

The provider had not always ensured there were robust processes in place to support people to have maximum choice and control over their lives. People’s care records did not always reflect how they were supported to make decisions or how decisions had been made in their best interests. Despite this, staff knew people well and focused on their strengths and promoted their independence.

The COVID-19 pandemic had impacted on people’s preferred leisure interests and people were not being supported with as many personalised pursuits as before. The registered manager was aware of this and had put plans in place to review and improve how people were spending their time, including setting goals for the future.

Staff supported people to play an active role in maintaining their own health and wellbeing.

People received support from staff to take their medicines in their preferred way. However, protocols for medicines which were given covertly (such as medicines disguised in food or drink) were not always up to date.

People were able to make decisions about their living environment and personalise their bedrooms. The provider had implemented a refurbishment plan for the service to improve the living environment for people.

Right Care

People were not actively involved in making decisions about the management of risk. The provider was not always able to demonstrate how restrictions in place had been decided upon and whether any less restrictive options had been considered.

The provider had not always completed all relevant recruitment checks prior to staff starting work. We have made a recommendation about safe staff recruitment.

Staff received an induction and training appropriate to their role to ensure people were supported by staff who could meet their needs and keep them safe.

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs.

Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it.

Right Culture

People and those important to them were not always fully involved in planning and reviewing their care. However, staff knew and understood people well and were responsive to their needs.

The registered manager did not have robust systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service and people’s care documentation did not always reflect their current needs and future aspirations.

The registered manager had created a positive culture in the service and often worked directly alongside other staff, leading by example. The registered manager promoted continuous learning and told us they were committed to making improvements in the service to improve people’s 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

This service was registered with us on 3 April 2019 and this is the first inspection. This service was previously registered under a different provider.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection as the service had not been rated. We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of Right support right care right culture

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to how the provider assesses people’s capacity to consent and the oversight of the service. Please see the Effective and Well-Led sections of this full report.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.