Turning Point - Coqbeck Support Domiciliary Care Agency

This service provides care and support to people living in ‘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. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with the regulated activity ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also take into account any wider social care provided. There were 13 people receiving the regulated service at the time of our inspection.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

People’s experience of using this service:

There were systems in place to keep people safe. Sufficient staff were deployed to meet people’s needs.

People were supported by staff who were caring. We observed positive interactions between staff and people. One person told us, “I would give it 10 out of 10 for happiness.”

Staff encouraged people to pursue their hobbies and interests and be active members within their local community.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Audits and checks were carried out to monitor the quality and safety of the service.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published 29 May 2016, www.cqc.org.uk).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection to confirm that this service remained Good.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate and high quality care. Further inspections will be planned for future dates.

The service provides personal care for six people who have a learning disability and live in their own homes in Northumberland. The agency also provided an “outreach” service to support people in the local community. We did not inspect this aspect of the service because it was out of scope of the regulations.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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.

People indicated to us that they felt safe. This was confirmed by relatives. There were safeguarding policies and procedures in place. Staff were knowledgeable about what action they would take if abuse was suspected. There was a safe system in place for the management of medicines.

People, relatives and staff told us there were enough staff to meet people’s needs. There was a training programme in place. Staff were trained in safe working practices and to meet the specific needs of people who used the service. Further training had been booked in end of life care and catheter care.

People were supported to receive a suitable nutritious diet. People, relatives and health care professionals spoke positively about the caring nature of staff. We observed that people were supported by staff with kindness and patience.

Relatives were positive about the responsiveness of staff. Support plans were in place which instructed staff how to meet people's needs and preferences. People were supported to continue their hobbies and interests.

There was a complaints procedure in place and people knew how to complain. One relative raised a complaint which we passed to the manager to deal with. Surveys and meetings were carried out to obtain people’s views.

Relatives were complimentary about the management of the service. Staff informed us that the service had been through a period of uncertainty caused by a change in external funding. This had initially caused some staffing issues. The manager told us and staff confirmed that changes at the service had now settled and morale had improved. A number of checks were carried out to monitor the quality and safety of the service. Action was taken if any deficits were noted.

People were also complimentary about the care they received. One person said, 'It's nice, we do cooking in the kitchen.' We found that people's needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan.

People told us that they liked the staff. One person said, 'Staff are good, they help you.' We found that there were effective recruitment and selection processes in place.

The provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people receive.

People's personal records and those related to staff and the management of the service were accurate and fit for purpose.

Staff treated people with respect and agreement was sought before care was delivered. Where people had the capacity to make their own decisions they had signed care plans and consent forms.

People's needs were assessed and delivered in line with their individual plan. Files contained information about people's needs and how they liked to be treated; including a daily routine and details of personal preferences. People looked happy and relaxed and related well to the staff. One person told us, "I live here with my carers. I like it a lot; I am very happy."

Safeguarding Information and contact numbers were displayed in the main office and the provider had a safeguarding policy. Staff told what was meant by safeguarding. One staff member stated, "It's about keeping people we are working with as safe as they possibly can be."

Staff told us, and records confirmed there was regular supervision and yearly appraisals. One staff member told us, "We get one to one sessions and can discuss anything about the job we want."

We saw the provider had a complaints policy with a flow chart for dealing with both "expressions of dissatisfaction" and complaints. We saw that there was an easy read version of the policy available.