Archived: Gateshead Home Support - Henshaws Society for Blind People

People’s experience of using this service: At this inspection we found a breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. This related to governance. The registered manager did not record the way they reviewed, assessed and monitored the quality of service provided. A formal, independent system was not in place to ask people and relatives for feedback about service provision.

Staff monitored people's health and wellbeing and took appropriate action when required to address concerns.

The service assessed risks to the health and well-being of people who use the service and staff. Where risks were identified action was taken to reduce the risk.

Staff understood how to keep people safe and their responsibilities for reporting accidents, incidents or concerns. The registered manager knew how to identify safeguarding concerns and to act on these appropriately.

Recruitment processes were in place to make sure, as far as possible, that people were protected from staff being employed who were not suitable.

People had food and drink to meet their needs. Staff followed advice given by professionals to make sure people received the care they needed.

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

People were treated with respect and their privacy and dignity were promoted. They said staff supported them in the way they wanted. Staff were responsive to the needs of the people and enabled them to improve and maintain their independence with personal care.

Communication was effective to ensure staff and relatives were kept up-to-date about any changes in people’s care and support needs and the running of the service.

A complaints procedure was available. People told us they would feel confident to speak to the registered manager and staff if they needed to.

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

Rating at last inspection: Good (October 2016).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating of the service at the last inspection.

Follow up: We identified concerns at this inspection and will ask the provider for an action plan with timescales of improvements to be made. We will therefore re-inspect this service within the published timeframe for services rated requires improvement with a requirement notice.

Gateshead Home Support, Henshaws Society for Blind People is based in Gateshead and provides personal care and support to people, some of whom have sensory impairments, in their own homes. The service was supporting three people at the time of inspection.

The service had 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.

We found that people’s care was delivered safely and in a manner of their choosing. People were supported in a way that reflected their wishes and assisted them to remain as independent as possible. Staff were aware of signs of potential safeguarding issues and knew how to raise them internally and externally.

Staff were well trained and encouraged to look for new ways to improve their work. Staff felt valued by the registered manager and this was reflected in the way they talked about the service and the registered manager. Staff received regular supervision and support.

People who used the service were initially assessed and then matched up with suitably trained staff to support their needs, and if people requested changes to hours of support these were facilitated quickly. People and relatives were complimentary of the service, and felt included and involved by the staff and registered manager.

There were high levels of contact between the staff and people with staff seeking feedback and offering support as people’s needs changed. People and their relatives were able to raise any questions or concerns with the service and were confident these would be acted upon. No one we spoke with had any issues or complaints about the service they received.

Staff worked to keep people involved in activities that mattered to them where possible. Relatives thought that staff were open with them about issues and sought their advice and support with the permission of the person.

The registered manager was seen as an experienced leader, by staff, people using the service and peoples relatives. The registered manager was trusted and had created a strong sense of commitment to meeting people’s diverse needs, supporting their staff and developing a better service. The registered manager had identified the need to develop quality assurance processes if the service expanded further.