I Say Supported Living Services Limited

Updated 19 March 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type:

'I Say' Supported Living Services Limited is a domiciliary care agency. People live in the community, on their own, in shared housing and with their families. Not everyone using 'I Say' Supported Living Services Limited receives personal care; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

The service had a registered manager. This means that they are registered with the Care Quality Commission and with the registered provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. The registered manager was also the registered provider.

What we did:

Before visiting the service, we looked at previous inspection reports and information sent to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) through notifications. Notifications are information we receive when a significant event happens, like a death or a serious injury. We also looked at information sent to us by the registered manager through the Provider Information Return (PIR). The PIR contains information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We reviewed three people's care plans. We also looked at a variety of different sources of information relating to people, such as; activity plans and risk assessments. In addition, we looked at; surveys, staff rotas, training records, recruitment files, medicine administration records, complaints and accident logs.

We gathered people’s experiences of the service. We spoke with two people and one relative. We met one person at their home and observed their care. We looked at feedback given by people through the providers quality audit processes. We also spoke with the registered manager (who is also the registered provider), deputy manager, human resources manager, training manager and five members of staff. We received feedback from three external health and social care professionals.

Updated 19 March 2019

About the service: This service provides personal care to people living with Autism and/or Learning Disabilities in Medway, Maidstone and the surrounding areas. There were 24 people receiving personal care at the time of this inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

People felt safe with staff. People felt included in planning their care. People’s rights and their dignity and privacy were respected. People were supported to live the lifestyle of their choice. People told us they were listened to by the management of the service.

People could involve relatives or others who were important to them when they chose the care they wanted.

People were involved in talking about their personal safety in the community and in their home. This included giving people information about using the internet safely, reporting bullying or harassment and eating and drinking healthy.

Care plans had been developed to assist staff to meet people’s needs. The care plans were consistently reviewed and updated. Care plans told people’s life story, recorded who the important relatives and friends were in people’s lives and explained what lifestyle choices people had made. Care planning informed staff what people could do independently, what skills people wanted to develop and what staff needed to help people to do.

Staff were deployed in the right numbers to meet people's needs and choices. People had a say in which staff supported them and how they were recruited. The registered manager accompanied new staff to introduce them to people. If people did not get on with new staff, they could tell the registered manager who would offer to change their care staff.

Health and safety policies and management plans were implemented by staff to protect people from harm. The provider trained staff so that they understood their responsibilities to protect people from harm. Staff were encouraged and supported to raise any concerns they may have.

Incidents and accidents were recorded and checked or investigated by the registered manager to see what steps could be taken to prevent these happening again.

People were often asked if they were happy with the care they received. The care offered was inclusive and based on policies about Equality, Diversity and Human Rights. People, their relatives and health care professionals had the opportunity to share their views about the service either face-to-face, by telephone, or by using formal feedback forms.

Complaints made by people or their relatives were taken seriously and thoroughly investigated.

The registered manager recruited staff with relevant experience and the right attitude to work with people who had learning disabilities. Recruitment policies were in place. Safe recruitment practices had been followed before staff started working at the service.

New staff and existing staff were given an induction and on-going training which included information specific to the people’s needs in the service. Staff were deployed in a planned way, with the correct training, skills and experience to meet people’s needs.

There were policies and procedures in place for the safe administration of medicines. Staff followed these policies and had been trained to administer medicines safely.

Staff supported people to maintain a balanced diet and monitor their nutritional health. People had access to GPs and their health and wellbeing was supported by prompt referrals and access to medical care if they became unwell. Good quality records were kept to assist people to monitor and maintain their health.

Management systems were in use to minimise the risks from the spread of infection, staff received training about controlling infection and accessed personal protective equipment like disposable gloves and apron’s.

The service could continue to run in the event of emergencies arising so that people’s care would continue. For example, when there was heavy snow or if there was a power failure at the main office.

The registered manager and staff were working with a clear vision for the service.

Rating at last inspection: At our last inspection on 21 June 2016, we gave the service a Good rating. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good. (The last inspection report was published on 03 August 2016).

Why we inspected: This was a comprehensive inspection scheduled based on the previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive.

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