About the service Royal Mencap Society - Rotherham and Sheffield Domiciliary Care Agency is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. 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. At the time of this inspection the service was providing personal care to 68 people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they felt safe whilst being cared for by staff. Relatives agreed their family members were safe. One relative said, “We are really happy because [name] is really happy”. We saw people were happy and trusted the staff.
There were systems and processes in place to minimise risks to people. These included making sure staff knew how to recognise and report abuse. There were adequate numbers of staff available to meet people's needs in a timely manner. Recruitment checks were completed prior to staff being employed which helped make sure staff employed were of good character. People, relatives and staff all said managers had dealt with the pandemic very well. One relative said, “The way they dealt with the pandemic was marvellous. [Name] stepped out of her routine, and they didn’t let it affect her.”
People were supported to receive adequate food and drink to remain healthy. People chose what they wanted to eat and drink. Staff received regular training, supervision and appraisal so they were skilled and competent to carry out their role. 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 knew the people they were supporting and provided a personalised service. Support plans showed how people wished to be supported and people were involved in making decisions about their care. Staff treated people with respect and people's dignity and privacy was actively promoted.
Staff were proactive in engaging people with individual activities of their preferred choice. People told us about their social calendars and how busy they were. Systems were in place to deal promptly and appropriately with any complaints or concerns. The registered provider treated complaints as an opportunity to learn and improve.
The service was led by an experienced registered manager and management team. The registered provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service, seek people's views and make on-going improvements. Staff were motivated to perform their roles and worked to empower people to be as independent and as possible. People, relatives and staff were encouraged to provide feedback about the service, and it was used to ensure continuous improvement. Most staff felt they were listened to by senior managers and changes made to improve the service and their job satisfaction. However, some staff said they had not seen any changes or improvements made in response to their suggestions and concerns.
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.
The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.
Right support: People's choice was maximised, and they were supported to develop more control and independence.
Right care: Care was person-centred and promoted people's dignity, privacy and human rights.
Right culture: Ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensured people lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good, published on 5 October 2017.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.