Aspire Care Support Services Ltd

Updated 14 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

This inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

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 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 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 there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent to 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 seven people who used the service and five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager. We also spoke with a professional who worked with the service in support of people’s needs to gain their feedback.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision and a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 14 February 2023

About the service

Aspire Care Support Services Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of inspection 59 people were receiving a service.

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

Care plans and risk assessments where in place with regard to the support that people required however, we identified that some of these where incomplete. The registered manager immediately acted on this and rectified the issues.

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.

People felt safe. Staff had received appropriate training and had the right skills to provide care safely and effectively. We were told by one person “I feel the care is safe. I like the consistency and reliability.” The provider had systems in place to ensure people were protected from abuse and avoidable harm.

Staff supported people to take medicines safely. Staff were trained in medicines management and knew how to ensure that people received their medicines on time, and as prescribed. Accidents and incidents were recorded and reviewed in order to minimise the risk of reoccurrence. There was a complaints procedure in place, which people's relatives were aware of, and quality assurance processes such as spot checks, were used to drive improvements.

Safe recruitment practices were followed, and appropriate checks completed to ensure that only suitable staff were employed. Staff received an induction and were supported through a programme of regular supervision and training. Staff comments included, “There is always training sessions going on and if we want to progress and put an idea forward that we would like to do, Aspire gets the training booked,” and “I have worked with Aspire for two years and they always push the staff to want to better themselves by allowing them to do courses to improve qualifications.”

People, relatives and health and social care professionals spoke positively about the service provided. People received personalised care responsive to their individual needs. Staff had a good understanding of the care and support people needed and provided this with kindness, care and compassion, whilst respecting their privacy and dignity.

People were involved in deciding what support they needed. Close working partnerships with other agencies and health and social care professionals had been formed. A social care professional told us “They [Aspire Care Support Services Ltd] are very approachable, willing to work and engage with us, they always attend the Domiciliary Care forums, no issues at all in terms of engagement / feedback.”

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 inspected at a previous location and was rated good. This report was published on the 22 March 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.