Archived: MyLife Healthcare South

Updated 23 September 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

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

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 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small, and people are often out, and we wanted to be sure there would be somebody in the office to speak with us.

Inspection activity started on 02 August 2022 and ended on 09 August 2022. We visited the location’s office on 02 August 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.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager and care staff. We reviewed a range of records. This included two people's care records and medication 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.

Updated 23 September 2022

About the service

MyLife Healthcare South is a domiciliary care agency. The service provides support to people who live with complex care needs including people with physical disabilities and learning disabilities and autism. At the time of our inspection there were eight people using the service. People lived in their own houses or flats.

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.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Right Support:

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. Staff supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision-making.

Staff supported people to access specialist health and social care support where this support was needed. Where people needed support with meals of drinks staff provided this support. Staff communicated with people in ways that met their needs.

Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence. People received their medicines as prescribed. Staff were recruited safely and received regular supervision. Staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do.

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 which was person centred. 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. 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 were protected from the risks of infection.

People’s communication needs were assessed, and they were provided with appropriate support where support was needed. Where people who had individual ways of communicating, such as using body language and pictures staff understood how people communicated.

People’s care, treatment and support plans reflected their range of needs and this promoted their wellbeing and independence. Staff and people cooperated to assess risks people might face. There was detailed guidance for staff on people’s needs. Staff were aware of the risks to people’s health and knew how to support them to reduce these risks.

Right Culture:

People received good quality care, support and treatment because staff had the training, they needed to support people well. Staff knew and understood people well and were responsive to people’s needs. People had their own care team and had consistent support from staff.

People and those important to them were involved in planning their care. People and their relatives were involved in regular reviews of their care to ensure staff were aware of changing needs.

Staff evaluated the quality of support provided to people, involving the person, their families and other professionals as appropriate. Staff ensured risks of a closed culture were minimised so that people received support based on transparency, respect and inclusivity.

Incidents were well managed, and action was taken to reduce the risk of re-occurrence. Notifications were sent to CQC as appropriate. The registered manager was aware of their duties under the law.

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 22 June 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

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