Archived: Future Carehomes Limited

Future Care Home (FCH) is a supported living service providing personal care to six people in two different supported living schemes. 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 risk of harm and abuse. There were effective systems and processes in place to minimise risks to people. Risks had been identified, assessed and reviewed. Care workers knew how to identify and report concerns. They had been recruited safely and showed good knowledge and skills in relevant areas including medicines administration and infection control. However, we found that staff would benefit from training more tailored towards the needs of people with learning disabilities and autistic people.

The service used positive behaviour support approach, which was opposed to restrictive practices. 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.

The deputy manager had introduced a range of quality assurance processes, including systems necessary to maintain safe environments. The registered manager and her deputy manager ensured policies and procedures met current legislation and were up to date. Relatives and people who used the service told us they were asked for their views about the quality of the service.

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:

• The model of care and setting maximised people’s choice, control and independence. The service supported people to gain greater independence by teaching them new life skills.

Right care:

• Care was person-centred and promoted people’s dignity, privacy and human rights. The service provided person centred care, for example, we saw that people’s spiritual needs had been addressed and they were supported to maintain and build positive relationships if they wanted to.

Right culture:

• The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of managers and care staff ensured people using services led confident, inclusive and empowered lives. People who used the service were supported to take part in activities, education and employment and we were told by external professionals that they had gained confidence since being supported by FCH.

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 this service was Good (published 4 December 2019).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to medicines management, staffing, care planning and lack of management oversight. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective, responsive and well-led only.

For the key question not inspected, we used the rating awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has remained good. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the safe, effective, responsive and well-led sections of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Future Care Homes Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.

Future Carehomes Limited is a is a domiciliary service providing personal care to people in their own homes and in shared supported living household. It provides a service to people who live with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder and/or mental health needs. Some people may also have a physical disability and/or sensory impairment.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (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 inspection, two people were receiving help with personal care.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin

Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

People's care was planned with the full involvement of people using the service and where applicable their relatives.

People we spoke with were positive about the care they received. They told us staff were kind to them and supported them to lead the life they wanted.

People received personalised care and support from trained, competent staff, who understood their needs and provided them with personalised care and support.

Staff received the guidance and support they needed to do their job well and effectively meet people's needs.

Care staff were committed to promoting people's privacy, dignity and independence and supporting them to make choices.

There were systems in place to safeguard people from the risk of possible harm. Staff knew what their responsibilities were in relation to keeping people safe. They knew how to recognise and report any concerns they had about people's welfare.

The service assessed and managed risks to ensure that people received personal care and support safely.

The provider worked in partnership with relatives and other agencies to support people's good health and well-being.

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.

The provider had systems in place to manage and resolve complaints. People and their relatives were listened to. They had opportunities to provide feedback about the service, and action was taken to address issues they raised.

There was a positive, open and supportive culture at the service. The provider was committed to providing good care to support people to achieve the best possible outcomes. Systems were in place to assess and monitor the quality and delivery of care to people. Improvements to the service were made when needed.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

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 this service was Good (published 01 August 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.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

People who used the service were protected from the risk of harm and abuse. There were policies in place in relation to safeguarding and whistleblowing procedures. Care workers understood these policies.

People's risks had been assessed and there were plans in place to reduce risks.

New employees were checked before they could work with people. There were enough care workers to support people. People told us that care workers turned up on time to provide care.

People received their medicines safely. There were policies and procedures in place. Care workers administering medicines had been trained to do so.

Care workers completed an induction to ensure they were aware of their roles and duties. They were provided with regular supervisions. Appraisals were undertaken annually to assess and monitor their performance.

People told us they were treated with respect and dignity. They said they were always given a choice and care workers respected their decision.

The service was responsive to people’s needs. People's support needs were assessed prior to receiving support from the service. The care plans from these assessments covered all aspects of their needs.

People and their relatives told us they thought the service was well managed. There were suitable arrangements in place to monitor the quality of the service.

The service had a Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) policy to ensure care workers were provided with relevant information to uphold people's rights.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

People we spoke with told us they were happy with the care they received. Comments included "(The care) is all ok, all fine", and "Couldn't be improved." The provider had appropriate arrangements for medical emergencies and staff were aware of how to provide safe care. However the care plans did not have sufficient detail to ensure the needs of people were met when care was delivered.

All the people we spoke with had no concerns regarding the service and were aware what to do if they had a problem. They also said they had confidence in the provider to solve any issue. There was evidence that the provider followed best practice regarding safeguarding vulnerable adults from abuse.

Staff were appropriately trained, checked and developed to ensure they provided care that was safe.

We were told by people who used the service that they were aware of how to complain about the service but told us they had not been involved in the monitoring of their care. However, we saw evidence that the provider undertook various checks of the care provided to ensure it was safe and met peoples' needs.