Archived: New Directions Specialist Support Services

New Directions Specialist Support Services is a domiciliary care service. It provides personal care for people with learning disabilities, physical impairments and mental health support needs. People receiving support lived in their own homes or in supported living services. At the time of this inspection there were 38 people using the service. In addition to personal care the service provides community support to people to support them to participate in activities of their choice.

At our last inspection on 7 January 2016 we rated the service Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

The service has a registered manager. Like registered providers, registered managers are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us that they were satisfied with the quality of the support that they received. During our inspection people using the service came to the office and we saw that they were comfortable and familiar with the office staff and their support workers.

Staff members had received training in safeguarding of adults, and were able to demonstrate their understanding of what this meant for the people they were supporting. They were knowledgeable about their role in ensuring that people were safe and that concerns were reported appropriately.

Staff members supported some people to take their prescribed medicines. The medicines administration records that we viewed were correctly recorded with no gaps. Staff members had received training in the safe administration of medicines.

The service was meeting the requirements of The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). Information about people’s capacity to make decisions was included in their support plans.

Staff who worked at the service received regular training and were knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities. Appropriate checks had taken place as part of the recruitment process to ensure that staff were suitable for the work that they would be undertaking. All staff members received regular supervision from a manager and those whom we spoke with told us that they felt well supported.

People’s support plans and risk assessments were person centred and provided detailed guidance for staff around meeting people’s needs. These were regularly reviewed and updated where there were any changes in people’s needs. We saw that these were provided in picture assisted formats where required. A planned programme to develop and improve the format of people’s support plans was underway with involvement from a service user focus group.

People were supported to participate in a range of activities in the local community. The service had recently developed a programme of group activities in partnership with their service user forum. The aim of this was to reduce isolation and support people to develop new relationships.

People’s cultural, religious and social needs were supported by the service and detailed information about these was contained in their support plans. Where possible, support workers were matched with people according to their cultural and other preferences and interests.

The service had a complaints procedure that was provided in an easy read format. People were aware of this and knew how to make a complaint. All complaints received by the service were fully investigated.

The service’s policies and procedures were up to date and reflected legal requirements and current best practice. Regular quality assurance monitoring had taken place and actions had been taken to ensure that concerns arising from these checks were addressed promptly.

People’s care and support needs were regularly reviewed. The service liaised with other health and social care professionals to ensure that people received the support that they needed.

Further information is provided within the detailed findings below.

We saw that the service aimed to respect and involve people in their care. For example, we saw staff actively involving people and using tools such as a communication tool to involve a person. People had been supported to attend community events and to lead active lives.

Support plans were detailed and provided clear objectives for meeting people's needs. Support staff were familiar with the support plans and were able to show and describe how they supported people. There were effective links with other professionals in order to support people to obtain health and social care support. Support staff were being supported by managers through regular communication and the provision of supervision and on-going day-to-day support.

The staff recruitment and selection processes were effective. There was evidence that the required recruitment checks had been made on staff before they started work and that induction training had been provided.

People using the service were regularly asked for their views. There were a range of audits available to the manager and there was work in progress to develop the methods of involving people and obtaining their views.

People were able to express their views and were involved in making decisions about their care and treatment. People told us that they were offered choices in relation to how they wanted to be supported. They told us that they had regular meetings to talk about their care and could comment on how the service was run.

They confirmed that staff assisted them when they needed support with their care and that staff were very helpful. One person commented, 'the care is absolutely fantastic.' Another person commented, 'I have every confidence in the staff.'

People who use the service told us that they felt safe with the staff who supported them. They said they had no concerns or complaints about their care but would speak with their relatives, the manager or their care worker if they needed to. Comments from people using the service included, 'I have not had cause to complain.' and 'I feel safe.'

There was evidence that managers spoke with people using the service to gain their views about their care as well as identifying any areas for improvements.