We carried out a review of the data available to us about Avon Support on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Avon Support, you can give feedback on this service.
Crown Buildings is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own homes, including younger people who have a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder and or a physical disability.
At the time of our visit the agency supported 15 people. 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. Six people received support with personal care. Some people who received personal care required support 24 hours a day while other people received support at pre- arranged times.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People felt safe with care staff who supported them and those staff knew what they would do if they had any concerns about people’s safety and welfare. Care staff were trained in safeguarding adults and staff understood how to protect people from abuse and poor practice.
Staff were recruited safely, and there were enough staff to provide the care and support people needed it at the times they preferred.
Safe procedures to manage people's medicines and to prevent the risk of infection were understood and followed by staff. Regular checks made sure risks or errors were kept to a minimum.
People and their relatives made decisions about their care and were supported by staff who understood and followed the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. 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.
Staff were caring and respected people's right to privacy and dignity and staff encouraged people to remain as independent as possible, as well as supporting people to maintain and improve their daily living skills. Care plans were personalised to support the person centred care the management team told us people received.
Call schedules, staff and people told us care was provided by a consistent care team, at the times people preferred. People were involved in how their care was delivered and ongoing reviews ensured it remained what people needed. This meant staff got to know people well, especially their individual routines and preferences. Staff encouraged people to remain as independent as possible by supporting people to do things they could do for themselves.
The provider’s governance systems were operated and managed effectively to ensure good care outcomes for people that continued to meet their needs.
There was an experienced registered manager and management team who provided good leadership and were committed to providing a good quality service to people. It was evident that their commitment and passion to provide people with good care outcomes was central to the delivery of its service. People and staff found the management team open, approachable and responsive. Staff said it was a pleasure to work at this service and staff showed us a strong responsibility to support people in their care.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was Good (published 2 February 2017)
Why we inspected
This was a planned and announced inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. The previous ‘good’ service provided to people had remained consistent.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our 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
We visited the offices of Avon Support Ltd on 5 and 6 January 2017. We told the provider 48 hours before the visit we were coming so they could arrange for staff to be available to talk with us about the service.
The service has 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. The registered manager was also an owner of the company.
People felt safe with their support workers and knew what they would do if they felt unsafe. Support workers were trained in safeguarding adults and understood how to protect people from abuse. There were procedures to manage identified risks with people’s care and for managing people’s medicines safely.
There were enough support workers to provide the support people required. Checks were carried out prior to support workers starting work to ensure their suitability to work with people who used the service. All staff received an induction when they started working for the service and completed training to support them in meeting people’s needs effectively.
People told us support workers were caring and had the right skills to provide the care and support they required. The managers and support workers understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), and supported people in line with these principles. People had consistent support workers who they were able to build trust and relationships with.
Support plans and risk assessments contained relevant information to help support workers provide the personalised care people required. People were involved in their care and were asked for their views and opinions about the service they received. People and support workers said they could raise any concerns with managers knowing they would be listened to and acted on.
There was an experienced registered manager and management team who provided good leadership and were committed to providing a quality service to people. People and support workers found the management team open, approachable, and responsive.
There were systems to monitor and review the quality of service people received and to understand the experiences of people who used the service. This was through regular communication with people, relatives and staff, and a programme of other checks and audits.
People we spoke with were positive about the care they received. One person told us, 'I can do more with their help.' A relative told us the staff were, 'Easy going, very professional and well trained.' They said, 'X is doing all the things they want to be doing and being supported in a fantastic way.'
Staff demonstrated they understood people's personal needs and the individual ways they communicated their needs.
People told us that staff treated them with respect when they supported them.
We found that care staff were aware of safeguarding procedures and knew how to keep people safe. People who used the service and their relatives told us they felt safe.
We saw that the provider made appropriate checks on staff before they began work.
We found that there was an effective system for monitoring the quality of the service.