Archived: HF Trust - Stroud DCA

The service was last inspected on 29 January and 3 February 2014. At the previous inspection there were no breaches of regulation.

There were two registered managers in post at 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 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At the time of the inspection, the provider was supporting 42 people living in different supported living locations. There had been some re-structuring of HF Trust in 2016 and some other services were closing. Many people had recently moved to HF Trust Stroud DCA from larger care homes. There were three registered managers for the provider. They each managed a number of locations between them, with each being responsible for approximately three locations. The registered managers would cover each other’s locations in the event of any absence.

The service was safe. Risk assessments were implemented and reflected the current level of risk to people. There were sufficient staffing levels to ensure safe care and treatment. There were some minor errors with medicine recordings.

People were receiving effective care and support. Staff received training which was relevant to their role. Staff received regular supervisions and appraisals. The service was adhering to the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and where required the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

Staff told us there was an open culture and the environment was an enjoyable place to work. Staff were extremely passionate about their job roles and felt integral to the process of providing effective care to people.

The service was caring. We observed staff supporting people in a caring and patient way. Staff knew the people they supported well and were able to describe what they like to do and how they like to be supported. People were supported sensitively with an emphasis on promoting their rights to privacy, dignity, choice and independence. People were supported to undertake meaningful activities, which reflected their interests.

The service was responsive to people’s needs. Care plans were person centred to provide consistent, high quality care and support. People using the service and their relatives were able to raise concerns and were listened to.

The service was well led. Quality assurance checks and audits were occurring regularly and identified actions to improve the service. Staff, relatives and other professionals spoke positively about the registered managers.

On our second day we visited the three people whose files we had seen. They lived in the same house and were supported individually by the agency. People told us 'Staff help me with showering' and 'I just have ladies to help me' and 'They help me wash my hair and in case I slip in the bath'. Another person said 'I like all the staff' and 'They are very nice'.

Care plans recorded people's individual care needs and preferences. We saw that people were cared for, or supported by, suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff. The staff team had been trained, supervised and appraised on a regular basis. Staff we spoke with demonstrated their knowledge of people's needs and knew how to report suspected abuse and allegations of abuse to the appropriate agencies.

The provider had systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of service that people received and any complaints or comments made about the service were acted upon.

We found that people's needs were assessed and individual care plans written to meet assessed needs. We saw the provider had a system in place to check that care plans were followed. The provider told us of on call arrangements that were in place to deal with emergencies. We found the provider had enlisted the help of advocates in order to best meet people's needs.

Staff were trained in safeguarding and they were able to tell us what action they would take if abuse was suspected, witnessed or alleged. We found the provider had responded appropriately by raising concerns to the correct people on three occasions.

We found the provider ensured there were enough staff to meet people's needs and that staff received appropriate training to support people. People told us "staff are nice" and "they're supportive and friendly".

The provider asked people and their representatives for their views and made changes as a result of comments made where appropriate. People supported and staff told us they were encouraged to make comments on how the service was provided and that when they had changes had been made.