Your Life (Crowthorne)

Your Life (Crowthorne) is a home care service that provides social and personal care provision to people living in their own flats within a large complex of retirement apartments. At the time of our inspection there were three people receiving the regulated activity of personal care.

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.

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

People were protected from the risks of abuse and relatives felt reassured with the staff providing their support and care. The registered manager had the knowledge to identify safeguarding concerns and would deal with them appropriately. The staff showed understanding and awareness of safeguarding issues and when to report those. Risks to people's personal safety had been assessed and plans were in place to minimise those risks. Staff recruitment and staffing levels supported people to stay safe while living as independent a life as possible.

The registered manager scheduled visits so it would not overlap with each other, and that way, staff could maintain continuity of care and support. People received appropriate support with medicine as part of their plan of care and medicine was managed safely.

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.

People received effective care and support from staff who knew them well and were well trained. The staff monitored people's health and wellbeing and took appropriate action when required to address concerns. People's rights to make their own decisions were protected. People were treated with care, respect, kindness and their dignity was upheld. People and relatives were consulted about their care and support and could change how things were done if they wanted to. The registered manager and staff worked well together for the benefit of people and were focused on the needs of the people using the service.

People benefitted from staff who were happy in their work and felt well managed and supported. The registered manager encouraged feedback from people and families, which they would use to make improvements to the service and protect people against the risks of receiving unsafe and inappropriate care and treatment.

The registered manager had oversight in the monitoring of the running of the service, the quality of the service being delivered and took actions promptly to address any issues. The registered manager praised the staff team for their hard work and appreciated their contribution to ensure people received the best care and support.

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 requires improvement (published 30 September 2019). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We inspected the service based on the previous rating. This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 19 August 2019. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve good governance, notifying of management changes and safety incidents.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions safe and well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Your Life (Crowthorne) on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

Your Life (Crowthorne) is a home care service that provides a social and personal care provision to people living in their own flats within a large complex of retirement apartments.

Not everyone who used the service received the regulated activity of 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. At the time of the inspection only 2 people were receiving the regulated activity.

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

The provider did not have robust governance documentation in place to ensure effective systems to monitor the service. This meant that inconsistencies in care documents was not picked up and gave way to the potential for incorrect care being delivered. The provider had failed to notify the Commission of the registered manager leaving, although management was in place to ensure people received appropriate care.

People generally received safe care and treatment. People did on occasions receive additional support than agreed and documented with medicines that could lead to a potential risk of harm, as information was not correctly recorded, however, there was no evidence of this having occurred. Risks were recorded and measures to mitigate these documented. Staff were able to identify and were committed to report any signs of abuse. The provider ensured safe recruitment procedures were implemented when employing staff.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. Policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Communication with people was clear and specific to meet their needs. The service promoted choice and independence aiming to empower people as much as possible.

People shared positive relationships with staff who clearly treated them with kindness, compassion and dignity. Staff consistently treated people with respect and maintained their privacy in their home. People’s differences and diversities were welcomed. People reported that care was entirely person-centred and in line with their requirements. Care plans were personalised and contained comprehensive detail on people’s interests and preferences. People had access to activities and the necessary support to follow their interests, and to prevent isolation by the wider organisation.

Staff received a comprehensive induction and access to the provider’s mandatory training before working with people independently. Supervision support and competency checks were completed to ensure people were supported effectively by knowledgeable and suitable staff.

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 07 September 2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection. All new services are inspected within 12 months of registration.

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 CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk