Havilah Care

Updated 15 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. This service also provides a supported living service. This means they provide care and support to people living in a supported living’ setting, so they can live as independently as possible. People’s 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 48 hours' notice of the inspection. This was because the service was small, and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 18 August 2022 and ended on 19 August 2022. We visited the office location on 18 August 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since their first registration. This included any notifications (events which happened in the service that the provider is required to tell us about). 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 visited one person in their home and spoke with two staff who supported them. Some people were unable to talk with us and used different ways to communicate including signs, pictures, gestures, vocalisations and body language. We spoke with four relatives by telephone and we asked them about their experiences of the care provided for their family member.

We had discussions with the registered manager and nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We received written feedback via email from four staff and two healthcare professionals.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management and governance of the service, staff training records, and policies and procedures.

Updated 15 September 2022

About the service

Havilah Care is a domiciliary care agency and supported living service. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection six people were receiving a supported living service and one person was receiving a domiciliary care service.

Havilah Care provides support to people with a learning disability, autistic spectrum disorder, people with mental health needs, sensory impairment or a physical disability. Each person has their own house and are supported by staff 24 hours a day; seven days a week. There is a separate head office based in Milton Keynes.

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

Staff supported people to have choice, control and independence over their lives. People received care in their own homes where staff supported them to keep the premises safe, clean, well equipped, well-furnished and well-maintained. Each house reflected the person’s interests and they had been supported to choose their furniture and colour schemes.

Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that achieved best possible health outcomes. Staff supported people to access health and social care support, which included a regular review of their prescribed medicines.

The service encouraged people to be involved fully in developing their care plans and making decisions about their care and support. People were supported by staff to pursue their interests and to achieve their aspirations and goals. For example, one person had become involved in sports and had been awarded a trophy from the local mayor.

Right Care

People’s dignity and human rights were promoted, and people were encouraged to make decisions about their day to day routines. People received kind and compassionate care and staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to people’s individual needs

Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and potential harm. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and knew how to report any concerns. There were sufficient numbers of staff who were appropriately skilled to meet people’s needs and keep them safe.

People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them as staff supported them consistently and knew them well. People received care that focused on their quality of life and followed best practice, with input from a range of health and social care professionals.

Staff, relatives and people worked together to assess risks people might face. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.

Right culture

Staff supervision, staff meetings and spot checks were held regularly and used to develop and motivate staff, review their practice or behaviours, and focus on professional development.

People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff team which were well embedded into practice. Staff showed us how they supported people to make decisions about their day to routines using pictures and symbols.

Relatives told us they were fully involved in their family members care and support and they spoke of the open culture, and regular contact and visits to see their family members. We saw feedback from relatives praising the management and staff team and the positive changes to their family members.

Staff placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. People and those important to them, were involved in planning their care. The service evaluated the quality of support provided to people, involving the person, their families and other professionals as appropriate.

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 23 July 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection following registration. We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture.

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.