Appleford Homes

Updated 18 November 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was completed by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

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

Inspection activity started on 20 October 2022 and ended on 8 November 2022. We visited the location’s office on 20 October 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since registration. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager and reviewed a number of records including two people’s care plans and daily records, 2 staff members recruitment files, rotas, policies and systems for governance.

We obtained feedback from 3 people and their families who were currently using, or had previously received support from Appleford Homes, to understand their experiences of receiving support. We obtained feedback from members of staff who worked at the service.

Updated 18 November 2022

About the service

Appleford Homes is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection, the service was supporting two people with 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. The service was supporting adults of all ages; people with physical disabilities and people with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. 'Right support, right care, right culture' is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Support

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 were supported by staff to pursue their interests, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life. Staff supported people to achieve their aspirations and goals.

Right Care

People received kind and caring support. Staff understood and responded to people's individual needs and knew how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people's needs. People received care that supported their needs and aspirations, focusing on their quality of life, and following best practice. Staff and people cooperated to assess risks people might face and where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.

Right culture

People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff. Staff knew and understood people well and were responsive, supporting their aspirations to live a quality life of their choosing. People and those important to them, were involved in planning and reviewing care. The quality of support provided to people, involving the person, their families and other professionals as appropriate was consistently reviewed.

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 18 December 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

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