Archived: Voyage (DCA) Berkshire

Updated 31 August 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in "supported living" settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. The Care Quality Commission does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people's personal care and support.

The service provides support to 55 people who receive a regulated service in 30 locations. Each person has their own room and shared communal areas such as kitchen, living room and dining room. Staff provide support on a rota basis, including cover at night.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. They are referred to as the "registered manager" throughout the report. The registered manager was supported by field support supervisors who were responsible for the day to day management of each location.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours' notice of the inspection visit as we needed to be sure that the registered manager and supporting office staff would be available.

What we did before the inspection

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

We reviewed the notifications received from the provider. The law requires providers to send us notifications about certain events that happen during the running of a service. We contacted local authority teams engaged with the service, including clinical commissioning groups, continuing health care groups, the local fire authority and environmental health for information to aid the planning of our inspection.

During the inspection

The inspection site visit was completed on 9 and 15 July 2019. On 15 July 2019 we visited two locations where seven people lived. We spoke with eight people who used the service, either at the provider’s office or their own homes. We observed medicines being administered and the support people received in communal areas, including the preparation and consumption of meals.

We also spoke with the registered manager, the operations manager, the area recruitment officer, two care coordinators, three field support supervisors and eight support workers.

We reviewed the service care records, including nine people’s care plans and medicine administration records (MAR), risk assessments relating to skin care, falls management, and nutrition. We reviewed the daily progress notes of four people. We looked at 11 staff recruitment and training files, together with the provider’s training and supervision schedules. We also examined other documents relating to the management of the service, including policies, procedures, quality assurance documents, audits and satisfaction surveys.

After the inspection

We spoke with six community health and social care professionals, four people who used the service and 12 people’s relatives.

Updated 31 August 2019

About the service

Voyage (DCA) Berkshire provides care and support to people diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder, mental health needs or living with learning disabilities, dementia, sensory impairments or physical disabilities. At the time of the inspection it was providing support to 55 people who used the regulated service. This service provides care and support to people living in “supported living” settings so that they can live in their own home as independently as possible.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

• The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on providing opportunities for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

• People received good quality care that was safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led. Overall, people and their relatives provided positive feedback about all aspects of the care they received.

• People were protected from avoidable harm and abuse by staff, who understood their role and responsibility in relation to safeguarding and keeping them safe. Staff ensured the human rights of people who lacked a voice, were upheld and respected. People experienced safe care, delivered in accordance with their comprehensive risk assessments and management plans. The service always deployed enough suitable staff to meet people’s needs.

• Staff felt they were valued and respected by the management team, who actively sought their involvement to improve and develop the service. Staff completed an effective induction programme, then were enabled by the provider to develop and maintain the required skills to meet people’s needs effectively. The registered manager completed regular competency checks to ensure staff delivered care in accordance with their training.

• People were treated with kindness and compassion by staff, who were described as caring, gentle and patient. People received care from a consistent staff team, with whom they had built trusting relationships. People were actively involved in making decisions about their care.

• People consistently received individualised care that was tailored and responsive to their needs. Staff identified the communication needs of people with a disability or sensory loss and effectively shared this information with others when required. People were supported to engage in stimulating activities of their choice and to maintain relationships with people that were important to them.

• People knew how to make a complaint and were confident the provider would address their concerns. Complaints were responded to and used to improve the quality of people’s care.

• The provider had received compliments from relatives in relation to the compassionate care provided to their family members at the end of their life.

• The service was well-led, with the registered manager providing clear and direct leadership, which had cultivated a positive, open and empowering culture. The registered manager worked effectively in partnership with professionals from multi-disciplinary teams to ensure people were integrated into their local community and had their health and social care needs met.

Rating at last inspection:

This service was registered with us on 15 February 2019 and this was the first inspection.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned, comprehensive inspection.

Follow up:

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

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