People Matter Support Services

Updated 7 July 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 2 inspectors and 1 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 and provides care and support to people living in 3 ‘supported living’ settings, so they can live as independently as possible. It also provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. 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 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

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

Inspection activity started on 31 May 2023 and ended on 2 June 2023. We visited the location’s office on 31 May 2023.

What we did before the inspection

The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed all information we held about the service through notifications. We reviewed information held on Companies House and online reviews. We contacted the Local Authority to gain feedback regarding the service.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke to 4 staff including the registered manager, the new manager and 2 care staff, and received written feedback from 8 further care staff. We spoke to 5 people who use the service, 4 family members and 1 close friend. We reviewed a range of records including 5 people’s care records and medicines records. We looked at 4 staff files in relation to recruitment and supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 7 July 2023

About the service

People Matter Support Services is a domiciliary care agency and supported living service providing personal care to older people, younger adults, children and also those with a physical disability, learning disability and autism. The service provides care to people in their own homes in the community. At the time of inspection, the service was providing personal care to 25 people.

Not everyone who used the service 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

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.

Right Support: 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. Care plans contained clear information to staff on how to best support the person in order to meet their needs. Staff had received safeguarding training on an annual basis in order to ensure their knowledge of their responsibilities was up to date to keep people safe. The registered manager reported any allegations to the local authority safeguarding team and CQC as required. All staff had received appropriate training in relation to medicine management and this was assessed regularly by the registered manager.

Right Care: The care observed was person-centred and promoted people's dignity, privacy and human rights. People received the right support in relation to risks, such as those relating to mental health conditions and learning disabilities. Risk assessments contained clear information on how to mitigate risks to people as well as how to support them with making informed decisions. There were enough staff to support people safely and staff knew people well. The provider checked staff were suitable to work with people through recruitment checks. Staff received training in infection control practices.

Right Culture: The registered manager did not have always have effective practices in place in relation to auditing people’s records. This was discussed with the registered manager and a new system is planning to be put in place in the coming months. The registered manager oversaw staff competences with regular spot checks and reviews to ensure people received good quality care. Staff reported to feeling well supported. Care was provided in a person-centred way. The provider worked with local health and social care services to ensure people received the care they needed.

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 the service at the previous premises was good, published on 19 June 2020.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Recommendations

We have recommended the provider ensures their new governance systems are embedded into the service to ensure effective oversight of the service

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.