Background to this inspection
Updated
20 November 2018
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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. This was a comprehensive planned inspection.
We carried out this inspection on 20 September 2018 and it was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be in.
One adult social care inspector and one Expert-by-experience carried out the inspection. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The expert on this inspection had experience of caring for children with learning disabilities and autistic spectrum disorder. They made telephone calls to parents of children that used the service on 19 September 2018 to ask their views of the support their children received.
We gathered information before the inspection from notifications that had been sent to the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Notifications are when providers send us information about certain changes, events or incidents that occur. We received feedback from local authorities that contracted services with the agency and reviewed information from people who had contacted CQC to make their views known about the service they received. We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
We spoke with parents of 12 children that used the service and foster parents of two more children. We spoke with the registered manager and two staff that worked at North East Lincolnshire Council Short Breaks Service (Home and Community Support). We looked at care files belonging to two children that used the service and at recruitment files and training records for two staff. We viewed records and documentation relating to the running of the service, including those for quality assurance and monitoring and management of medicines.
Updated
20 November 2018
North East Lincolnshire Council Short Breaks Service (Home and Community Support) is a domiciliary care service registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. They provide care to children and young people who may have a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder, a physical disability or sensory impairment. The care service has been developed in line with the values that underpin the 'Registering the Right Support' and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen - Registering the Right Support CQC policy.
At the last inspection the service was rated Good.
At this inspection we found the service remained Good. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because the overall rating of the service has not changed since the last inspection.
There was a registered manager at the service.
Children and young people, known throughout the report as children were protected from the risk of abuse because staff understood the signs and symptoms of abuse and knew their responsibilities for recording and reporting issues. Risks were managed so that children avoided injury or harm. Staffing numbers were sufficient to meet children’s needs, recruitment systems were followed to ensure staff were suitable to support children and the management of medicines and infection control and prevention were safe.
Staff employed were trained and qualified to carry out their roles, they were supervised and received an annual appraisal of their performance. Children were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Children received appropriate support with nutrition and hydration.
Children received compassionate care from kind staff that knew about their needs and preferences. They were supplied with the information they required, were involved in their support plans and asked for their consent before staff undertook any support tasks. Staff respected children’s wellbeing, privacy, dignity and independence.
Parents told us that their children received responsive support from the service, where staff ensured children experienced every opportunity in life. Staff gave of their own time, had boundless patience and extended the service to support parents as well as children. Staff enabled children to have a very happy and fulfilled childhood and youth. Children were supported according to person-centred support plans, which reflected their needs and were regularly reviewed. An effective complaint system was used by parents and carers/guardians of children and complaints were investigated without bias. Children were encouraged to maintain relationships of their choosing with family and friends.
The service was well-led and children had the benefit of both a culture and management style that were positive. An effective system was in place for checking the quality of the service using audits, satisfaction surveys and meetings. Children and their parents made their views known through various methods. Their privacy and confidentiality of information were maintained, as records were held securely on the premises.
Further information is in the detailed findings below.