HF Trust - Avon DCA

Updated 22 February 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

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency and supported living service. It provides personal care and support to people living in 3 ‘supported living’ settings, so that 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 provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection the registered manager was on maternity leave. Effective cover arrangements had been put in place and clearly communicated to CQC.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection because people are often out, and we wanted to be sure there would be people to speak with us. We also needed to make sure the managers would be available to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 18 January 2023 and ended on 27 January 2023. We visited the location’s registered address on 19 January 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people living at one of the supported living settings face to face, and a person from another property by telephone. We spoke with the relatives of 3 people who received support from the provider. This included the relative of a person who lived at the third supported living setting. We received feedback from 5 professionals who worked with the service. We spoke with 6 members of staff, including the Area Manager and Area Support Manager.

We reviewed records relating to people's care and the running of the service. This included 3 people’s care records and medication records. We viewed staff files online to check information about recruitment procedures and staff support. We looked at documents including rotas, audits, policies and procedures and quality assurance records.

We considered all of this information to help us to make a judgement about the service.

Updated 22 February 2023

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.

About the service

HF Trust – Avon DCA is a domiciliary care and supported living service. People are supported in 3 houses in Bristol and Bath. The properties provide self-contained flats with some shared spaces. There are two supported living houses in Bristol which can accommodate up to 9 and 17 people. The house in Bath provides support to up to 3 people.

At the time of our inspection, 28 people were receiving support from the service in these properties, but only 15 received personal care. 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

Right Support:

Risks to people and the service were assessed, monitored and managed with people so they were protected, informed and their wishes respected. This meant people were supported to take appropriate risks and enjoy their lives safely.

Staff supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision-making. Staff encouraged people and promoted their independence. Staff communicated with people in ways that met their needs.

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 access specialist services when this could better meet their needs or improve their quality of life. There was a desire for people to achieve the best outcomes possible.

Right Care:

Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply their knowledge.

There were enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. There was a core staff team who provided consistency.

People received kind and compassionate care from staff who knew them well. Staff ensured support was provided which met people’s individual needs.

Staff worked with people to assess and manage the risks people might face. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.

Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual and cultural needs and actively promoted individual equality and diversity in their support of people.

Right Culture:

People, relatives, staff and professionals all felt the service was well led. The management team had good oversight of the services. The provider's monitoring processes were effective in helping to ensure people consistently received good quality care and support.

Staff understood their responsibilities and the part they played in achieving the best outcomes for people and focused on supporting them to live the best life possible. Staff had the knowledge, skills and attitude to provide responsive and compassionate care that was tailored to people’s needs and aspirations.

A core staff team provided consistent care with support from bank and agency staff. In some supported living houses, staff turnover was very low.

People and their relatives were asked for feedback, and this was valued. Staff encouraged people to be involved in developing the service and this enhanced their quality of life. People and relatives were confident in raising concerns and told us these would be noted and acted upon.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 12 August 2019).

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.