Archived: Selborne Care Limited

Updated 10 January 2017

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 took place on 16 December 2016 and was announced. The provider was given notice because the location provides a supported living and domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be available at the office. The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

The provider had completed a provider information return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. This included information shared with us by the local authority commissioners. Commissioners are people who work to find appropriate care and support services which are paid for by the local authority. We reviewed statutory notifications sent to us from the provider. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.

We contacted staff who worked at the supported living home and one person’s relative by telephone on 13 December 2016; before we met with the registered manager on 16 December 2016. This was to obtain staff experiences of working for the service. A relative told us about their experiences of the services provided to their family member, because their relation was unable to talk with us themselves.

We spoke with two care staff and the registered manager. We reviewed one person’s care plan to see how their care and support was planned and delivered. We checked whether staff had been recruited safely and were trained to deliver the care and support this person required. We looked at other records related to this person’s care and how the service operated including the service’s quality assurance audits and records of complaints.

Updated 10 January 2017

The inspection took place on 16 December 2016 and was announced. This is the first inspection of this service following its registration with us in November 2015.

Selborne Care Limited is a large provider of care services. This location is registered to provide care and support to people in their own homes. The registered manager told us they currently provided only one 24hour supported living service to one person that included the regulated activity of personal care. The provider informed us that other people using their service received support with day to day tasks in their homes, such as cleaning or support with shopping. These services are not regulated by us and were not included in our inspection.

The supported living service provided by Selbourne Care Limited offers personal care and support to one person with a learning disability and autism.

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. The registered manager was registered with us for this service and two other small services provided by Selborne Care Limited.

Staff knew how to keep the person they supported safe. There were processes to minimise risks to the person’s and staff safety. These included procedures to manage identified risks with the person’s behaviours that could challenge. Care staff understood how to protect people from the risk of abuse and how to report any concerns. The suitability and character of staff was checked during the recruitment process to make sure they were suitable to work with the person who used the service.

The registered manager understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA), and care staff understood the person’s non-verbal communication and respected their decisions and told us they understood they should never force the person to do anything.

There were enough staff to meet the supported living package of care of 272 hours a week. Recruitment was taking place to fill two care staff vacancies and extra shifts were covered by existing care staff or experienced agency staff when needed. Staff demonstrated a kind and caring attitude toward the person they supported.

Staff received an induction when they started working for the service and completed regular training to support them in meeting the person’s needs effectively. Staff knew the person well and had the knowledge of how to respond to the person’s needs. Information about the person and assessed risks was available for staff to refer to in the person’s care plan.

Staff described how they knew if the person was unhappy about something and what action they would take. Relatives knew how to raise concerns or make a complaint if needed. Management told us concerns were used as a way of learning and to improve the service provided.

Staff felt supported by the management and they were able to contact the office and management at any time. There were systems to monitor and review the quality of service people received and understand the experiences of people who used the service. This was through regular communication with the person’s relatives and staff, annual quality surveys, spot checks on care staff and audits undertaken at the service.