Empire Care Limited

Updated 22 November 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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

One inspector carried out the inspection.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in one ‘supported living’ setting so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it was a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do 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 information we had received about the service since their registration. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited the office where the care was organised from and we also visited the supported living house. We spoke with one person, the manager and provider.

Following the inspection, We spoke with two care staff, two relatives and four health and social care professionals.

We looked at a person’s care and medicine records, two staff recruitment records and records relating to the governance of the service. This included quality assurance audits.

Updated 22 November 2019

About the service

Fairgate House is a supported living service providing support and personal care to people with learning disabilities and autism. 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. At the time of our inspection there was one person receiving the regulated activity, personal care.

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

This was the services first inspection since registration. Systems in place to ensure robust oversight of the service were not always effective. Although the provider took action when we brought matters to their attention, their own systems had not identified these issues. Risk management was not always robust, risks were not always reviewed following an incident.

People were supported by a small group of staff who knew their needs. Staff were aware of the types of abuse people may be at risk of and their responsibility to raise concerns to the appropriate authorities.

Staff felt supported by the manager and provider and had received some training. Plans were in place for staff to receive some additional specialised training specific to the needs of the people that the service intended to provide a service too.

The service had applied some of the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. For example, People's support focused on them having opportunities for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

People were treated with dignity and respect by staff who knew their needs. Staff supported people to make decisions on how they spend their time. Care plans included people’s likes, dislikes and preferences about 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

This service was registered with us on 26 October 2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection.