Background to this inspection
Updated
11 January 2019
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
The inspection was unannounced and took place on the 3 and 4 of December 2018. The inspection was completed by one inspector and an Expert by Experience (ExE). An ExE is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us to give us some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We looked at all the information we have collected about the service. This included the previous inspection report and notifications the registered manager had sent us. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to tell us about by law.
We looked at care records for 10 people who use the service. This included care plans, daily notes and other documentation, such as medication records. In addition, we looked at records related to the running of the service. These included a sample of health and safety, quality assurance, staff and training records.
During and after the inspection, we spoke with six people who live in the service and observed interactions between people and the care staff. We spoke with 14 staff members including support workers, lead support workers, locality managers, a performance coach and the registered manager. We requested information from external health and social care professionals including the local safeguarding team. All responses were extremely positive. We received comments from five relatives, which were also positive.
Updated
11 January 2019
Dimensions Berkshire Domiciliary Care Office is a domiciliary care agency providing a supported living service for approximately 146 people throughout Berkshire. The service supports people with a learning disability and associated needs. This service provides care and support to people living in a number of ‘supported living’ settings, 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.
At our last inspection we rated the service Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.
At this inspection we found the service remained Good.
Why the service is rated Good.
People and their relatives felt confident that people were safe and secure when receiving care. Staff understood people's needs and knew how to protect them from the risk of abuse. Risks to people's safety were identified and assessments were in place to manage identified risks. Where people required support to take prescribed medicines, staff had received training to assist people safely.
Sufficient staff were deployed to ensure that people had a consistently reliable service. Recruitment procedures to appoint new staff were thorough.
People were supported to take their medicines safely. We have made a recommendation in relation to ensuring appropriate guidance is in place relating to ‘as required’ medication.
People who use the service used a range of communication methods. These included non-verbal to limited verbal communication. People's individual methods of communication were clearly understood by staff.
People received good quality care. Staff treated people with respect and kindness at all times and were passionate about providing a quality service that was person centred. People were encouraged to live a fulfilled life with activities of their choosing and were supported to keep in contact with their families.
People's dignity and privacy was respected. People told us staff were reliable, friendly, and caring. Staff developed positive and caring relationships with the people they supported and used creative ways to enable people to remain independent.
There were a range of quality assurance systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided and understand the experiences of people who used the service. The provider involved people and their relatives in monitoring their services and staff teams discussed their findings. We have made a recommendation in relation to audits of medicine administration records.
People received their care and support from a staff team that had a full understanding of people's care needs and the skills and knowledge to meet them. Staff were given an induction when they started and had access to a range of training to provide them with the level of skills and knowledge to deliver care efficiently.
Further information is in the detailed findings in the full report.