We carried out a review of the data available to us about Arriva Care Services Limited on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Arriva Care Services Limited, you can give feedback on this service.
Arriva Care Services Limited is a domiciliary care and supported living service providing the regulated activity of personal care. At the time of our inspection there were 2 people receiving the regulated activity of personal care.
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. A variety of risk assessments were in place so staff were aware of how best to support people and minimise risk. We found the service was working within the principles of The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA).
Right Care: People were protected from abuse and poor care and any concerns were addressed. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet their needs and keep them safe. People received kind and compassionate care from staff who protected and respected their privacy and dignity and understood and responded to their individual needs.
Right Culture: Staff spoke positively about the culture of the service and told us they placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. People received consistent care from staff who knew them well. The management team and senior staff modelled good practice and led by example. One staff member said, “I work weekends and management are always available at weekends.”
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (18 September 2018)
Why we inspected
We received a concern in relation to people’s environments and staff’s understanding and application of The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Arriva Care Services Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
At the time of the inspection, the three people receiving personal care had been diagnosed with a mental health condition. Dynavour provides care and support to people living in two ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live in their own home as independently as possible. People’s care and housing were provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.
Two people using the service lived in a single ‘house in multi-occupation’ shared by four people receiving a service from Dynavour and one person lived in an ordinary flat in Gloucester. Houses in multiple occupation are properties where at least three people in more than one household share toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities.
This inspection took place on 18 September 2018. At the last comprehensive inspection in January 2016 the service was rated as Good overall. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.
At this inspection we found the service remained Good.
People’s care and support was personalised. Their individual wishes and choice of lifestyle had been considered when developing their care plans with them. They were involved in the review of their care with health care professionals and people important to them. People made choices about their day to day lives. 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. People’s rights were upheld and there were systems in place to help them to stay safe. People were involved in identifying any risks to them and any known hazards were reduced. People were encouraged to be as independent as they could be. Staff helped them to engage socially with others and to take part in activities of their choice.
People were supported to stay healthy and well. They planned their weekly menu and were encouraged to have a nutritional diet. People had access to a range of health care professionals. They had annual health checks. People’s medicines were safely managed. People had access to easy to read information which used pictures and photographs to explain the text. Staff understood people’s communication skills and how to promote effective communication. People said they were given information about their care and support.
People had positive relationships with staff, who understood them well, anticipating what would make them anxious or uncertain. Staff worked closely with health care professionals to make sure people’s care was consistent and followed current best practice. There were enough staff to meet their needs. This was kept under review as people’s needs changed. Staff had access to training and support to keep their knowledge and skills up to date.
People’s views were sought to monitor the quality of the service provided. They had information about how to raise a complaint. People and staff were invited to give feedback through quality assurance surveys. The registered manager and provider completed a range of quality assurance audits to monitor and assess people’s experience of the service. Any actions identified for improvement were monitored to ensure they had been carried out. Accidents and incidents were closely monitored and lessons were learnt to drive through improvements to people’s care. The registered manager worked closely with local organisations, agencies and national organisations to keep up to date with current best practice and guidance.
Further information is in the detailed findings below.
Dynavour Care Services Limited, hereafter referred to as ‘Dynavour’, is registered with CQC to provide personal care for people in their own homes in the Gloucestershire area. People receiving support may live with a learning disability, mental health problems and / or a physical disability. At the time of the inspection the service was providing support for approximately 70 people, however only 10 of these were receiving personal care, which is regulated by CQC. The service is required to have a registered manager in post. The registered manager had been registered as manager at the service since 2010. 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 benefitted from a reliable and flexible service which put their needs and wishes first. People were valued as individuals and were supported to become as independent as they could be and to maintain or rebuild relationships with people who were important to them. They benefitted from positive relationships with the staff who supported them and were routinely signposted to community services that often improved their health and mental well-being. People’s safety and well-being was maintained and enhanced through effective links with other community health providers, community services and support with benefit applications. People were respected as individuals and their right to make decisions about their lives, including potentially unwise decisions, were upheld. When people lacked capacity to make decisions the Mental Capacity Act was adhered to.
Staff enjoyed working at Dynavour and spoke highly of their colleagues. They worked well as a team and respected each other’s contribution, knowledge and experience. Staff felt well-supported and valued. They were able to speak openly and discuss issues or difficulties they, or the people they supported, were experiencing, so that solutions could be found. They cared for the people they supported and considered their needs holistically, being aware of and responding to changes in people’s day to day well-being, to ensure they were safe. Staff acknowledged people’s contribution and hard work in helping themselves to become more independent and stay well.
The service worked openly and in close collaboration with health service providers, local community services and local authorities. Strong leadership was provided by the registered manager who was highly experienced, well-respected in their field and took an outward facing approach; working in line with national policy, guidance and research recommendations. Managers worked closely with staff and were always available to provide support and advice; they knew of significant events happening within the service each day. They were aware of needs within their local community and worked inclusively with people, staff and other organisations to develop the service in line with people’s wishes and local needs.