09 November 2015
During a routine inspection
This inspection was announced and took place on the 9 November 2015.
The agency was previously inspected in June 2014 when it was found to be meeting all the regulatory requirements which were inspected at that time.
Creative Support (Warrington Personalised Services) is a domiciliary care service that is part of Creative Support Ltd (The Provider). Creative Support is a 'Not for Profit' organisation.
The Warrington personalised service is coordinated from business premises in Museum Street, Warrington. The domiciliary care service in Warrington currently provides personal care and support to 10 adults with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and / or mental health care support needs who live within the Warrington district.
At the time of the inspection there was a registered manager at Creative Support (Warrington Personalised Services). A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
The registered manager of Creative Support (Warrington Personalised Services) was present during the two days of our inspection and engaged positively in the inspection process, together with other members of the office management team and staff.
People spoken with told us they felt safe and confirmed they had confidence in the staff that provided them with care and support. There were systems in place to protect people from abuse such as safeguarding training and policies and procedures on how to recognise and respond to suspicion or evidence of abuse. Staff were aware of the provider's procedures for reporting any safeguarding concerns and how to whistle blow.
Records showed that the needs of prospective service users had been assessed prior to using the service. Care and / or support plans and risk assessments had also been completed to ensure staff understood how to meet individual needs and keep people safe.
People using the service and / or their relatives told us that they received a reliable service. There were contingency arrangements in place to cover staff absences and robust procedures were followed for staff recruitment. This helped protect people against the risks of unsuitable staff gaining access to work with vulnerable adults.
People received appropriate support to manage their medicines. Staff received medicines training and systems were in place to check that medicine was administered as directed by the prescriber and to review daily balances.
Staff had access to induction, mandatory and other training that was relevant to their roles and responsibilities. Staff spoken with also confirmed that they had received formal supervision and attended team meetings at regular intervals.
Staff understood the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and were aware of the need to consider whether people had capacity. We noted that that files contained records of consent for areas such as care planning, administration of medicines and support with finances.
The provider had developed a complaints procedure and people using the service and / or relatives spoken with told us that in the event they needed to raise a concern they were confident they would be listened to and the issue of concern acted upon promptly.
Systems had been established to obtain feedback from people using the service and staff via annual surveys and a range of audits. The provider also undertook its own internal audits periodically, to monitor and review the standard of service delivered.