Background to this inspection
Updated
29 June 2022
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
Two inspectors carried out this inspection. Additional support was provided by an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Service and service type
This service provides care and support to people living in four ‘supported living’ settings, 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.
Registered Manager
This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that 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 a short period notice of the inspection because some of the people using the service it could not consent to a home visit from an inspector. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. We also wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.
Inspection activity started on 26 May 2022 when we visited the location’s office and ended on 1 June 2022.
What we did before inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection. We used information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 30 March 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with six people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the nominated individual and registered manager. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the of provider.
We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and medicines records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.
Updated
29 June 2022
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.
About the service
Grazebrook Homecare Ltd provides personal care and support to 11 people in four supported living settings.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support
The service (or staff) supported people to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence be independent and they had control over their own lives. Staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life.
People were supported by staff to pursue their interests. Staff supported people to achieve their aspirations and goals. People had a choice about their living environment and were able to personalise their rooms. The service made reasonable adjustments for people so they could be fully in discussions about how they received support, including support to travel wherever they needed to go. Staff supported people to take part in activities and pursue their interests in their local area. Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community. Staff supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision-making. Staff communicated with people in ways that met their needs. Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcome.
Right Care
Staff promoted equality and diversity in their support for people. They understood people’s cultural needs and provided culturally appropriate care. 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. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. People who had individual ways of communicating, using body language, sounds, Makaton (a form of sign language), pictures and symbols and could interact comfortably with staff and others involved in their treatment/care and support because staff had the necessary skills to understand them. People’s care, treatment and support plans reflected their range of needs and this promoted their wellbeing and enjoyment of life. Staff and people cooperated to assess risks people might face. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.
Right culture
People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff. People received good quality care, support and treatment because trained staff and specialists could meet their needs and wishes. Staff knew and understood people well and were responsive, supporting their aspirations to live a quality life of their choosing. Staff placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. Staff ensured risks of a closed culture were minimised so that people received support based on transparency, respect and inclusivity.
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 requires improvement (published 19 October 2019).
Why we inspected
We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of Right support right care right culture. This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
You can read the report from our last inspection by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Grazebrook Homecare Ltd 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.