Archived: Langstone Community Support Services

People’s experience of using this service:

People were supported to have maximum choice and control over their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way as possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People felt safe and staff had good knowledge of safeguarding processes. Staff had been recruited safely. We saw staff had received training that was relevant to their roles.

People knew how to complain, and an easy read version of the complaint’s procedure was accessible.

Staff treated people with kindness and compassion and people spoke highly of them. We saw positive feedback had been gathered about the support staff provided.

Staff were positive about the current management team and felt the new policies implemented have been beneficial. For example, a new policy had been issued about professional boundaries.

Project managers had good oversight of the people they supported. However, the provider lacked oversight of the whole service. This meant the quality of the service was not always monitored.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principals and values of Registering the Right Support. For example, peoples support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection the service was rated good (report published 15 September 2016).

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the ratings at the last inspection. The inspection took place on 22 May 2019.

Follow up:

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

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Langstone Community Support Services is registered to provide personal care services to adults in their own homes or a supported living environment. People the service supported had a range of needs including physical disability and learning disability. On the day of the inspection, 30 people were receiving support. 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.

People told us they felt safe within the service. We found that staff knew what appropriate action to take where they felt people were at risk of harm. Where people were supported with their medicines this was being managed in a way that people had their medicines as they were prescribed.

Care staff received support to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs. The provider ensured the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) were adhered to and staff received the appropriate training to ensure people’s human rights were not restricted.

People received the support they expected and were able to make decisions based on the support they received. Where there were changes in the support people received the provider was able to respond appropriately. People were able to raise concerns they had by way of the provider’s complaints process.

We found that the provider had the appropriate assessments and support plans in place which people were involved in. People’s dignity, privacy and independence was respected and they were supported by care staff who were caring.

We found that people were able to share their views on the service by way of completing a questionnaire.

We found that the registered manager or provider was not carrying out quality assurance audits and checks.

Notifiable events were not being reported to us as is required within the law.

The people we spoke with confirmed their consent was obtained before staff provided any care and support. Relatives we spoke with also confirmed this. One person we spoke with said, 'A care worker went through my care plan with me and I have agreed to this'.

People made positive comments about the support they received. One person we spoke with said, 'They respect me and get me anything I want'. Another person told us, 'The carers are absolutely brilliant, I am very happy with the service'.

We found that systems were in place to support people to have their medication when they needed it.

We found that procedures were in place to ensure only suitable care workers were recruited.

There was a complaints procedure in place to enable people to share their concerns.

All of the people we spoke with told us they were satisfied with the service they received. One person said,'I think the staff are very good, and the service is brilliant. The staff are always respectful in the way they speak to me and support me, I am very happy with everything'. Another person told us, 'The service is excellent, I would be lost without them, I am happy with everything'.

People spoken with and their representatives were able to confirm that they knew what their plan of care said and confirmed they had been involved in developing this. This ensures they receive support is a way they prefer.

We found that staff were clear about the action to take should they become aware of an allegation of abuse. This ensures people are safeguarded from harm.

Staff spoken with told us they felt supported by the management team. They confirmed they have regular training opportunities. This ensures staff are able to deliver care to an appropriate standard.

We found that systems were in place for assessing and monitoring the quality of service provided.