Ascentia Support Services Ltd

Updated 19 May 2023

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 1 inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses or 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 who is also the nominated individual.

Notice of inspection.

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. We give short notice of inspections as this was a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 28 February 2023 and ended on 21 April 2023. We visited the location’s office on 5 April 2023.

What we did before the inspection

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 reviewed other information we had received about the service since it was registered with the CQC. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the nominated individual who is also the registered manager. This person had legal responsibility for supervising the management of the service. We also spoke with the office manager.

We looked at 3 people’s assessment and care planning records as well as recruitment, supervision and training information for 4 care staff.

We received feedback from 1 person using the service and 2 relatives about how safe they, or their relatives, felt and how the service supported them in the care they or their relative needed. We also received feedback from 2 members of the care staff team about what it was like to work for the service and how well they thought the service trained and supported them.

Updated 19 May 2023

About the service

Ascentia Support Services Ltd is a small domiciliary care service, currently providing support to 4 people. One of the people was not using the service at the time of the inspection, but might do so again in the near future.

Not everyone that used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (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

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 and the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People’s safety was promoted because the service assessed, monitored and managed their safety well. Potential risks that people may face had been identified, assessed and were regularly reviewed. The assessments provided information about steps that care staff could take to support people to ensure that any potential risks were minimised.

The service had enough staff to cater for the needs of the people currently using the service. Pre-employment checks had been carried out for care staff. These checks helped to safeguard people using the service by ensuring that only suitable applicants were offered work with the service.

No one currently using the service required help to take their medicines. The provider had ensured that all staff were trained during their induction to be ready to provide care with medicines should anyone require this in future.

People were protected from the risks associated with poor infection control because the service used effective infection, prevention, and control measures. Personal protective equipment, for example face masks, gloves, and hand sanitiser, were provided in suitable quantities to staff. Guidance and training for staff were provided and staff were assessed to ensure these skills were maintained.

The service completed an assessment of each person’s needs and personal wishes about how they were cared for, and care plans included guidance about meeting these needs.

There was a process in place to report, monitor and learn from accidents and incidents. Significant events had not taken place although the provider told us if any events did occur these would be documented and reviewed in line with the service’s policy and guidance.

There was an effective training system in place. People were supported by staff who had received relevant induction training in evidence-based practice.

People’s nutritional needs were met. Care staff did support some people to prepare light meals on occasions although no-one currently required help to eat or drink. The service had taken steps to make sure people’s nutrition and hydration needs were assessed.

People’s health needs were met. Care staff were able to assist people to attend healthcare appointments if requested. Usually people themselves, with the assistance of a family member, managed these appointments independently.

Staff respected people’s choices, including those relevant to protected characteristics, for example, due to disability, cultural or religious preferences.

Governance processes were effective and helped to assess, monitor and check the quality of the service provided to people.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This is the first inspection of the service. This service was registered with us on 10 November 2021.

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.