Limitless Care Group

Limitless Community Hub is a care agency which provides personal care and support to children aged four to 17, younger adults, people with a learning disability and autistic people, both at home and in the community. The service also provides short term residential respite support in a house which can accommodate up to two people. At the time of the inspection 18 people were receiving support with personal care and one person was staying at the respite accommodation. Eleven people were accessing the respite accommodation regularly.

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

Relatives told us staff provided people with safe care and managed any risks to their health or wellbeing effectively. Staff knew how to protect people from the risk of abuse and avoidable harm. The registered manager recruited staff safely. Most people were happy with the service’s staffing arrangements, but some told us they had experienced missed or late visits. The registered manager told us this was due to staff sickness and difficulties recruiting additional staff. We have made a recommendation about maintaining sufficient staffing levels. People’s medicines were managed safely, with some minor improvements needed to ensure compliance with national guidance. Staff followed safe infection prevention and control practices and adhered to Government guidance relating to COVID-19. The safety of the home environment was checked regularly.

Staff provided people with support which reflected their needs and risks. 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 received the induction and training they needed to support people well. Staff were aware of people’s dietary and healthcare needs and risks and provided appropriate support. The respite accommodation environment was suitable for people’s needs and risks.

Relatives told us people liked the staff who supported them. Relatives found staff kind, caring and respectful and were happy with how they supported their family members. Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity. They encouraged people to be independent and make decisions about their care when they were able to. People’s right to confidentiality was respected.

Staff treated people as individuals and supported them in a way which reflected their needs and preferences. Staff knew people they cared for well, including their likes, dislikes and what was important to them. They encouraged people to make decisions about their support when they could. People were supported to follow their interests, try new things and develop new skills. Staff reviewed people's care needs regularly. Concerns and complaints were managed appropriately.

The registered manager and staff were clear about their responsibilities. They prioritised providing people with personalised, good quality care which met their needs. Relatives’ views about the service were sought and listened to. Staff told us management were approachable and supportive. The registered manager and senior staff completed regular checks to ensure appropriate standards of quality and safety were being maintained at the service. They worked in partnership with community professionals to ensure people received the support they needed.

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 support provided by staff focused on ensuring people had choice, control and were encouraged to be as independent as possible.

Right care: People were treated as individuals and the support provided by staff promoted their privacy, dignity and human rights.

Right culture: The registered manager, care co-ordinators and support staff, all displayed values which prioritised supporting people to live confident, inclusive and empowered lives.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

This service was registered with us on 1 June 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the service’s date of registration.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively. This included checking that the provider was meeting COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

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.