Archived: Maple Care and Support Services

Below is a summary of what we found. The summary is based on our observations during the inspection, speaking with people using the service, the staff supporting them and from looking at records. If you want to see the evidence supporting our summary please read the full report.

Is the service safe?

Individual risk assessments were in place to protect people living at the home from identified sources of harm. However we found that people were placed at risk due to low standards of cleanliness in their home and a lack of maintenance to the home environment.

People were placed at significant risk of harm and neglect due to a failure to pay staff to provide them with the care that they required, and a lack of quality assurance management for the service.

Systems in place to manage the administration of medicines were not safe enough to ensure that there was no risk of mistakes being made. These issues are being followed up and we will report on any action when it is complete.

Is the service effective?

People told us that they were satisfied with the support they received from the service. However there had been no staff supervision in recent months and no staff training provided within the last year. Staff training and development needs were not met to ensure that people received support from competent staff.

We also found there had been insufficient support from staff for people to keep their rooms clean and not enough motivation to undertake activities. These issues are being followed up and we will report on any action when it is complete.

Is the service caring?

People using the service were happy with the way staff supported them. They told us 'It's top class,' 'I have the flexibility to arrange staff support for trips when needed,' and 'staff are fantastic ' so helpful.' Staff understood the needs and preferences of individual people they supported. As part of their key working role staff told us that they encouraged people to engage with community services.

Is the service responsive?

People had their individual needs assessed and had a care plan which reflected their individual needs. However we found that information provided in people's care records did not detail any recent one to one support with activities and other goals. Therefore people could not be assured that their changing needs would be responded to appropriately. These issues are being followed up and we will report on any action when it is complete.

Is the service well-led?

Staff members we spoke with had not been paid their full salary and did not have contact details for the director of Msasa Care Ltd. There were no quality assurance audits undertaken by the provider to determine the quality of care provision. The provider also failed to notify CQC of three changes to the sole director of Msasa Care Ltd. People were not supported by a well led and safely managed service. These issues are being followed up and we will report on any action when it is complete.

We saw that people were involved in their care planning and people told us that they were treated with respect. One person told us "I like it here", and another person said "It's alright". We saw that the care plans, risk assessments and risk management plans were up to date. People were given choices about the activities that they participated in and when necessary, they were offered appropriate support.

People we spoke with told us that they felt safe. We spoke with staff and they had an understanding of safeguarding procedures and the actions to take if they had concerns. We saw the safeguarding policies and staff confirmed with us that they knew and understood these policies.

Staff were given the opportunity to undertake relevant training and we saw that staff had regular supervision and appraisals. The provider had systems in place such as tenants meetings and surveys to ensure that people were able to provide feedback to the service.