Background to this inspection
Updated
25 October 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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.
Inspection team
This inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
This service provides care and support to 98 people either living in supported living settings or in their own homes via outreach services, so that they can live as independently as possible.
For people in supported living settings, 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.
At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service a few days’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 16 June and ended on 4 August 2022. We visited the office location on 16 June 2022.
What we did before inspection
The provider was asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the service was registered. We sought feedback from the local authority. We used this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with five people in three supported living settings and two people in their own homes. We spoke with 12 members of staff including the registered manager, care staff and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.
We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records. We looked at three 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.
We also contacted staff and involved health and social care professionals by email to ask their views about the service. We received a response from three staff and five health and social care professionals.
Updated
25 October 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
Sessions House, Domiciliary Care is a service providing support to people with a learning disability in their own houses and flats. At the time of inspection there were 98 people using the service. Some people lived in their own home, whilst other people lived in shared living accommodation. People received a variable number of support hours per week, depending on their assessed needs.
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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support: Model of Care and setting that maximises people’s choice, control and independence.
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. People had choice and control around their care arrangements. Care focussed on people’s abilities and promoted their independence.
Right Care: Care is person-centred and promotes people’s dignity, privacy and human rights. Staff were respectful of people’s dignity, privacy and treated them as individuals with their own beliefs, thoughts and aspirations.
Right Culture: The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensured people using services led confident, inclusive and empowered lives. The management team displayed caring and person-centred values. They modelled this behaviour to staff and set expectations that these values should be integral to staff’s working practice.
The support provided by Sessions House, Domiciliary Care enhanced people's lives by helping them to develop their skills and seek opportunities to lead fulfilling lives. People were supported to maintain relationships that were important to them and the support arranged so people could access the services and activities that they wished. People’s support plans identified how they would like to be supported and what they would like to achieve with the help of care and support. People’s communication needs were identified and met to help ensure they could direct their support and communicate their needs. New digital systems were being introduced for staff to more easily access and record all this important information.
People were supported to stay safe whilst being enabled to take positive risks to promote their independence. There were enough staff, who had received the right training and support to effectively undertake their role.
People were supported to lead healthy lives and access healthcare services when required. Where appropriate, health and social care professionals were involved in planning and reviewing people’s care. The service was proactive in maintaining these professional relationships and effective in implementing the advice given.
There were effective systems to oversee and improve the quality of the service. There were service managers and senior staff in place who were responsible for organising and overseeing people’s support. The registered manager was knowledgeable, approachable and professional in their lead role.
Staff were caring and respectful. People told us that they liked the staff and felt listened to. Staff were motivated in their role and understood the importance of promoting people’s privacy and dignity.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Why we inspected
This service was registered with us in June 2021 and this is the first inspection.
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.