AFG Community West Lancashire

West Lancashire Branch Office, known to people using the service and staff as AFG (Alternative Futures Group), is a supported living service providing personal care to people who lived in their own homes across west Lancashire.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

At the time of the inspection, a total of 96 people were using the service, of which 57 people were receiving support with personal care.

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

People were supported in a kind, sensitive and respectful way. People were involved in discussions about their support and were given information in a way they understood. Staff supported people to take part in activities and pursue their interests in the local area. Care and support had been developed around individual assessed needs. Staff worked in a way which promoted people's independence. People were supported to access healthcare services and staff liaised closely with other health and social care professionals. People received their medicines, however, we found some shortfalls in the records and made a recommendation about the management of medicines.

There were sufficient numbers of staff deployed to meet people's needs and ensure their safety. Staff were recruited safely, and relevant checks had been carried out. People were supported by staff who had been trained and were appropriately supervised. People’s needs were assessed prior to the receipt of service.

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 practice.

Right Care

People were positive about the care and support they received. People were treated with dignity and respect, and their independence was encouraged. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. People had personalised care plans which considered their needs and preferences. Staff promoted equality and diversity in their support for people. Staff knew people well and communicated effectively with people to ensure they felt understood and valued.

Right Culture

The registered manager and staff promoted a person-centred culture which was focused on meeting people's individual needs. The registered manager was committed to the continuous improvement of the service. The registered manager and staff sought feedback and worked in partnership with others including health and social care professionals to ensure people received the support they needed. Staff had access to a wide range of relevant training which was refreshed at regular intervals. The provider had established effective systems to monitor the quality of the service.

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 13 May 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection to check whether the provider was meeting legal requirements and regulations, and to provide a rating for the service.

Recommendations

We made a recommendation about the management of medicines.

Follow up

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