All inspections: Choice Support - Care Quality Commission

Choice Support provides personal care to adults with learning disabilities. This care is provided in people’s own homes, shared lives schemes or in supported living. From the location at Westminster Bridge Road they provide support to London and the boroughs of Sutton and Merton. At the time of our inspection Choice Support was providing personal care to 121 people.

This announced inspection of Choice Support took place on 23 October 2017. At the last Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in December 2014 the overall rating for this service was Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good. The service demonstrated they continued to meet the regulations and fundamental standards.

The service was managed by two registered managers, each responsible for specific geographical areas as well as overall responsibility for the service. 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, their families and the health and social care professionals who knew them told us Choice Support delivered good support to people that enabled them to feel well, happy and safe. Choice Support continued to support people to communicate their preferences and needs and these were taken into account in the way their individual support was planned and delivered. For example, people were enabled to participate in a range of leisure, educational and work activities of their choice and some people had support to manage their behaviour in times of stress. People and their relatives were involved in reviewing their support and told us they were able to make changes when they wanted to.

People said staff were kind and caring and understood how to meet their needs. Staff told us they had received training and support from their managers which gave them the confidence to support people in ways that promoted their independence. The provider ensured there were sufficient numbers of competent staff across the service so people consistently received the support they required. This included support staff, behavioural support staff and health and well-being staff.

The provider had improved people’s access to healthcare services by supporting people to take up healthcare screening. People received appropriate support to access specialist advice and treatment in relation to their health needs. The service met the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People who may lack mental capacity were given appropriate support to understand and make decisions.

The provider had effective systems in place to carry out audits and reviews of the service provided. Action plans were implemented to address any shortfalls.

Staff were positive about working for Choice Support and understood and practised its values. They said their managers listened to them and the views of people they supported. They told us they had participated in meetings and events which promoted good practice.

This announced inspection of Choice Support took place on 1 and 2 December 2014. The service was last inspected 30 September 2013 when it was found to have met all the regulations checked at that time. The service provides support to about 70 people who have a learning disability. Most of the people who use the service live in supported living houses. Some people who use it live with their family.

The service 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, their families and the health and social care professionals who knew them told us Choice Support delivered good support to people that enabled them to feel well, happy and safe. People were supported to communicate their preferences and needs and these were taken into account in the way their individual support was planned and delivered. For example, people were enabled to participate in a wide range of leisure, educational and work activities of their choice. People were involved in reviewing their support and said they were able to make changes when they wanted to.

People said staff were kind and caring and understood how to meet their needs. Staff told us they had received training and support from their managers which gave them the confidence to support people in ways that promoted their independence. The provider ensured there were sufficient numbers of competent staff across the service so people consistently received the support they required.

The provider had improved people’s access to healthcare services by supporting people to take up healthcare screening. People received appropriate support to access specialist advice and treatment in relation to their health needs. The provider had a team who could advise staff about how to support people with complex needs. The service met the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People who may lack mental capacity were given appropriate support to understand and make decisions.

The provider undertook regular audits and checks to ensure each person received safe and effective support. When any shortfall was identified, there was effective follow up action which ensured people received a high quality service. People with learning disabilities were involved in these audits as ‘quality checkers’ and contributed to the evaluation of the service and the recommendations for improvement.

Staff were very positive about working for Choice Support and understood and practised its values. They said their managers listened to them and the views of people they supported. They told us they had participated in meetings and events which promoted good practice. They said they carried out their work role with confidence because they were well-trained and told us their managers were always available for support and advice.

Choice Support had signed up to a government initiative to improve the quality of services for people with learning disabilities. National events and briefings for staff kept people informed about the development of the service and staff understood the provider’s values.

We spoke with twelve people who used services and relatives or carers. We spoke with six members of the support staff team and three managers.

People told us that support staff were polite to them and one person said of the service "it's good". A carer said staff were 'very respectful".

Care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure people's safety and welfare. One person described the service as 'marvellous, excellent' and said staff were "very skilled" at providing appropriate care.

People who used the service were protected from the risk of abuse, because the provider had taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent abuse from happening. Staff had been trained and people who used the service had been given information about the safeguarding procedure. The provider took action to ensure people's safety when allegations of abuse were made.

People were cared for by staff who were supported to deliver care and treatment safely and to an appropriate standard. Two staff members described the training opportunities as "fantastic" and all the staff we spoke with said they felt supported in their work. One carer said the staff working with their relative 'definitely have the right skills".

The provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received.The system included asking people who used services for their opinions about the service.

We spoke with five people who use services; five members of the support staff team; two managers, and received feedback from two professionals involved in the service.

A person who uses the service told us 'staff are very kind towards me, I am happy with my service'.

A member of staff said 'Choice Support is an excellent organisation to work for, I love coming to work'.

A professional who has referred people for a service from Choice Support said 'the input my client has received in terms of support has been excellent.'

Archived: Choice Support

All Inspections

23 October 2017

During a routine inspection

1 to 2 December 2014

During a routine inspection

30 September 2013

During a routine inspection

26 September 2012

During a routine inspection