Archived: Southern Housing Group DCA

Southern Housing Group DCA is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes including a group of people living in an extra care housing facility. 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. At the time of this inspection the service was providing personal care to 42 people.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were very positive about all aspects of the service. All the people we spoke with praised the staff for their caring, kind and respectful attitudes and confirmed their preferences were listened to and respected.

The service was exceptionally well run. The provider, management team and staff shared the visions and values of the service and these were embedded within service delivery. There were robust systems to assess the quality of the service provided.

The service was committed to ensuring that there was equality and inclusion across the workforce and for the people who used the service. People were fully included in everything in relation to the service and encouraged and supported to be actively involved in the development of the service. The service was driven to help prevent social isolation for people living in the community and strong links with external organisations had been developed to benefit people.

The provider and registered manager were fully committed to ensuring the service continually improved and was proactive in implementing change. There was a very strong emphasis on continuous improvement and lessons learnt from incidents and people's feedback were used to improve the service further.

Staff worked in partnership with external health and social care professionals to ensure they supported people well. Professionals all spoke highly of the service and the care provided.

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.

Staff received effective training that gave them the skills to support people with their needs. Staff were clear about their safeguarding responsibilities and knew how to recognise and report potential abuse. Staff carried out their roles and responsibilities effectively. They had an excellent understanding of managing risks and supported people to reach their full potential through consistent, personalised care.

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 this service was Good (published February 2017)

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

There is no required follow up to this inspection. We will continue to monitor all information received about the service to understand any risks that may arise and to ensure the next inspection is scheduled accordingly.

Southern Housing Group DCA provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection the agency was providing a personal care service to 50 people with a variety of care needs, including people living with physical care needs, learning disabilities, mental health needs and memory loss.

The agency 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 and their families told us they felt safe and trusted the staff who supported them. Staff understood their safeguarding responsibilities and knew how to prevent, identify and report abuse. Risks relating to the health and support needs of the people and the environment in which they lived were assessed and managed effectively.

Safe recruitment practices were followed and appropriate checks were undertaken, which helped make sure only suitable staff were employed to care for people in their own homes. There were sufficient numbers of care staff to maintain the schedule of visits.

Staff were knowledgeable and received appropriate training to support people. They completed an induction programme and were appropriately supported in their work by supervisors and managers. Medicines were given safely by staff who were suitably trained.

Staff knew the people they provided care to well and understood their physical and social needs. Staff were able to describe how to meet people’s needs effectively. Staff referred people to healthcare professionals when required.

Staff, and the registered manager, knew how the Mental Capacity Act 2005 affected their work. They always asked for consent from people before providing care.

People told us they were cared for with kindness and compassion. People received personalised care and support that met their individual needs. Care plans provided comprehensive information to enable staff to provide care in a consistent way. People and their families told us they felt the service was well-led. There was a clear management structure in place and staff understood the role each person played within this structure. Staff felt well supported by the management team. Staff were motivated and enjoyed working at the service.

The provider sought and acted on feedback from people. There was a suitable complaints policy in place and people knew how to complain.

People's needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered according to those needs. Staff we spoke with were aware of people's needs and how to support them.

Staff were supported by appropriate training and supervision. The provider had quality assurance procedures in place to ensure the standard of care was maintained.

People we spoke with told us that care was delivered in a way which met their needs. One person said, 'I think staff are brilliant'. An independent health professional told us that the quality of care provided by the service was 'excellent'. The service had made arrangements to deal with foreseeable emergencies, including adverse weather.

We spoke to five members of staff, including the manager. All staff had received training in safeguarding and demonstrated a good understanding of the principles. There were appropriate arrangements in place for handling people's money.

Appropriate checks were undertaken before staff started work, including references and Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks. People were asked their views about how the service was delivered, and the provider took account of complaints and comments to improve the service.