Archived: Choice Support - 16-18 Dartford Road

Updated 13 September 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check 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.

This inspection site visit took place on 30 July 2018 and was unannounced. This inspection was completed by a single inspector. Before the inspection we looked at all the information we held about the service. This information included the statutory notifications that the service sent to the Care Quality Commission. A notification is information about important events that the service is required to send us by law. Due to technical problems, the provider was not able to complete a Provider Information Return. This is 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 took this into account when we inspected the service and made our judgements in this report. We also contacted health and social care professionals including the local authority that commissioned services from the provider for their views about the service.

During the inspection, we spoke with one person using the service and two relatives. We also spoke with three care staff and the registered manager. We looked at four care records and five staff files which included staff recruitment records. We also looked at other records used in managing the service such as policies and procedures, a staff training matrix, a staffing roster, audits and minutes of various meetings including staff meetings.

Updated 13 September 2018

This inspection took place on 30 July 2018 and was unannounced. Choice Support - 16-18 Dartford Road is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The care home accommodates up to five people in one adaptable building. At the time of the inspection four people were living at the home.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

At our comprehensive inspection on 21 and 22 June 2017, we found there were not always enough staff on duty to meet people's needs and the systems used in assessing and monitoring the quality of the service was not always effective. Following that inspection, the provider wrote to tell us the actions they would take to address our concerns. At this inspection we found that the provider had completed these actions and complied with the regulations.

There were enough staff available to support people’s needs including supporting them access the local community for social interactions and to participate in activities that stimulated them. There were effective systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service and this included daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly audits in areas such as medicines, infection control and health and safety.

The provider had safeguarding policies and procedures in place and staff knew of their responsibility to protect people from abuse. Staff said they would whistle-blow if they had any concerns of poor practices. The provider had safe recruitment processes in place and staff were checked before being employed to work at the service. People’s medicines were managed safely. People were protected from the risk of infection because staff followed appropriate infection control protocols to reduce the spread of diseases and accidents and incidents were reported and recorded to drive improvements.

There were systems in place to deal with avoidable harm. Risk to people had been identified, assessed and had appropriate management plans in place to prevent or minimise the risk occurring and staff knew of actions to take to mitigate risks to people. People had personal emergency evacuation plans in place which provided both staff and the emergency services information on how to evacuate people safely in the event of an emergency.

People’s needs were regularly assessed to ensure they were being met. Staff were supported through induction, training and supervision to ensure they had the knowledge and skills to perform their role effectively. Staff treated people with kindness and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff promoted people’s independence and involved them in household tasks that they had the ability to undertake. Staff understood the Equality Act and promoted people's diversity. 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 were supported to maintain good health and to eat and drink sufficient amounts for their wellbeing. People were supported to access healthcare services when required. The provider worked in partnership with other health and social care organisations to provide a joined-up service. The home was suitable and meeting people’s needs because of the way it was designed, decorated and adapted for their use.

There was appropriate guidance in place to ensure people’s communication needs were met. Each person had a care plan that provided guidance for staff on how their physical, mental and social care needs should be met. People were supported to maintain relationship with people that were important to them. People were supported to engage in activities of interest that stimulated them. The provider had a complaints policy in place and people knew how to make a complaint. Where required people were supported with end of life care needs.

There was a registered manger in post who notified CQC of significant events at the service. The provider displayed their CQC rating at the home and on their website to ensure people had access to this information. There was an organisational structure in place and staff knew of their individual responsibilities. People, their relatives and staff views were sought to improve the quality of the service. The provider worked with key organisations to plan and deliver an effective service. There were systems in place to support continuous learning and improve the quality of the service.