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Barclay Services

Overall: Requires improvement read more about inspection ratings

Chartwell Resource Centre, Gedding Road, Leicester, Leicestershire, LE5 5DU (0116) 368 0914

Provided and run by:
Chartwell Care Services Limited

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 25 November 2021

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The service was inspected by two inspectors.

Service and Service Type

This service provides care and support to people living in six ‘supported living’ settings, so they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means the provider is legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. A new manager had recently been appointed who would be applying to become the registered manager shortly.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small, and people are often out, and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

Inspection activity started on 12 October 2021 and ended on 21 October 2021. We visited the office location on 12 October 2021, along with two locations and a further location was visited on 14 October.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authorities and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service. We spoke with seven members of staff including the nominated individual, the manager, deputy manager, team leader, senior support worker and two support workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and medication audits. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We spoke with two relatives, three commissioners, one advocate, three team leaders and another deputy manager as well as two professionals who oversee the education of two people.

Overall inspection

Requires improvement

Updated 25 November 2021

About the service

Barclay Services is a ‘supported living’ service which provides personal care and support to people with learning disabilities and mental health conditions who were living in ‘supported living’ settings, so they could live as independently as possible.

At the time of the inspection five people lived separately in their own individual bungalows and four people lived in a house together which could accommodate six people. Each home provided 24/7 support for the person or people they looked after.

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 the inspection seven people were supported in this way.

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

We found there were systems and processes in place to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. People were supported to make choices that could involve risks and these were clearly documented.The service was promoting a positive culture that is person-centred, open, inclusive and empowering, which achieves good outcomes for people. The management team were making changes following a difficult few months, however, they and staff were clear about their roles and regulatory requirement.

A new management structure was in place that was improving communication and engagement throughout the service and externally.

Medicines were managed safely; staffing and recruitment practices ensured safe numbers of staff to care for people.

Infection Control practices to prevent and control infection were in place.

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.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

Based on our review of key questions Safe and Well-Led, the service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting or working towards meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. The resignation of several managers and team leaders prior to the summer months had disrupted the culture of the organisation. However there had not been a negative impact on people receiving a regulated activity. There was work in progress to ensure the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives across the whole of the organisation.

Right support:

• Model of care and setting maximises people’s choice, control and independence

Right care:

• Care is person-centred and promotes people’s dignity, privacy and human rights

Right culture:

• Ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives

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 23 April 2019).

Why we inspected

We had received a number of concerns in relation to staffing shortages, poor oversight, safeguarding, poor communication and management. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of Safe and Well-led only.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in supported living services where we find concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. Concerns that had been raised we found to be either exaggerated or unsubstantiated. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service has changed from Good to Requires Improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvement. Please see the Safe and Well-led sections of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Barclay Services on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.