Archived: Crossroads Care South Central

Crossroads Care South Central is a charity providing home and emergency respite care services for carers in West Sussex. This included children and adults with various conditions. Including older people living with dementia, autism and people with a physical disability. At the time of our inspection 85 people were receiving a care service, with an age range between 6 to 102 years old.

The service had a registered manager. 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.

People told us they felt safe, that staff were kind and the care they received was good. One person told us “Yes, I do feel safe. Because when my carer comes around I have someone to talk to”. There were good systems and processes in place to keep people safe. Assessments of risk had been undertaken and there were clear instructions for staff on what action to take in order to mitigate them. Staff knew how to recognise the potential signs of abuse and what action to take to keep people safe. The registered manager made sure there was enough staff at all times to meet people’s needs.

The provider had arrangements in place for the safe administration of medicines. People were supported to receive their medicine when they needed it. Staff considered people’s capacity using the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) as guidance. People’s capacity to make decisions had been assessed. Staff observed the key principles in their day to day work checking with people that they were happy for them to undertake care tasks before they proceeded.

People’s needs were assessed and regularly reviewed and they received support based upon their needs and preferences. Staff were proactive in recognising and supporting changes in people’s needs. We found the support plans to be person centred and details recorded were consistent.

Staff felt fully supported by the registered manager to undertake their roles. They were given training updates, supervision and development opportunities. New staff trained alongside experienced staff on support calls. Competency checks were completed to ensure staff were delivering the correct care and support for people. One member of staff told us "I shadowed the existing staff for a few weeks, I was keen to get started but it was important that I got to know people and their routines”.

People told us that staff were kind and caring. Comments included “All of them are wonderful and easy to talk to “and “They are all nice people. They will help you whenever you need and are very caring”. People confirmed staff respected their privacy and dignity. Staff had an understanding of respecting people within their own home and providing them with choice and control. People were supported at mealtimes to access food and drink of their choice if required.

People said they were happy with the management of the service. There were clear lines of accountability. The service had good leadership and direction from the registered manager and the provider. Staff felt supported in their roles and felt the management team were approachable. Staff comments included “I would highly recommend to my family and friends if ever needed” and "They always let us know what's going on and any changes. They tell us of updates and changes in people's support”.

The registered manager monitored the quality of the service by the use of regular checks and internal quality audits to drive improvements. Feedback was sought through surveys which were sent to people and their carers. Survey results were positive and any issues identified acted upon. People we spoke with were aware of how to make a complaint and felt they would have no problem raising any issues. Comments from people included “I can talk to anyone if I had a concern. But I have never made a complaint” and “I have not made a complaint before. Yes they would help me if I needed anything”.

People told us that the service was excellent; staff were flexible, well trained and accommodating. We found that people's care plans were comprehensive and staff had set instructions for delivering tailored care for the individual person. This was confirmed from the people we spoke with and we found that care plans available at the people's home to be compatible with the one held at the agency. This ensured that people were receiving the appropriate care and treatment as contracted.

We saw evidence of staff having entered information and observation in people's record books that were countersigned by the carer. We saw evidence of a survey carried out by the agency, audit through Carers Trust and West Sussex Commissioners. The outcomes were positive and where applicable an action plan had been implemented.

We found effective systems in place for the management of medicines. People were aware of the complaint procedure in place and were confident that their concerns would be heard and acted upon appropriately.

Care records showed that people or their representatives had been involved in planning their care and support. We saw evidence in care records that people's wishes were respected. When we spoke to people, they confirmed this. We saw evidence that people's privacy and dignity was respected and that people's diverse cultural, religious and language needs had been addressed.

We saw that the provider had suitable safeguarding procedures in place and that these had been used when needed. We saw that staff had been trained in safeguarding and this was confirmed to us by staff we spoke to.

We saw that staff had received training appropriate to their roles, including specialist training such as dementia, and that this was updated as necessary.

We looked at a number of audits of the service as well as surveys of people, staff and carers. The service had action plans against areas for improvement and we saw that actions had been completed. We saw the provider had good quality assurance systems in place.