Family Support @ Zone Central

Updated 10 June 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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by a single inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care and support to children aged 0-18 years with learning and/or physical disabilities in their own home and in the community.

At the time of the inspection there was no registered manager in place, There was a manager who had been in post since January 2022 and has applied to be the registered manager. This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

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 manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we received about the service. We asked the registered manager to send us information relating to care planning and risk assessments. We used this information to plan our inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We reviewed one person’s support records. We looked at staff recruitment, supervisions, training and a variety of records relating to the management of the service including policies and procedures and quality assurance management records were also reviewed.

We spoke with one relative. We spoke with the registered manager and one care staff.

After the inspection

We continued to ask for records and seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked staff and quality assurance records. We spoke with a representative from a local authority.

Updated 10 June 2022

About the service:

About the service: Family Support @ Zone Central is a domiciliary care service which provides personal care to children and young people with learning and/or physical disabilities in their own homes and in the community. At the time of the inspection, one child was receiving support with personal care.

People’s experience of using this service:

Records were not always completed fully and accurately. Risks were not always identified. Detailed risk management plans were not in place in relation to personal care needs, safeguarding, environmental risks, being out in the community, sensory needs and activities to manage these risks. Medicines were not safely managed. Staff recruitment files were not maintained by the provider. Incidents were not analysed and learning from incidents was not shared with staff.

Pre-assessments were not carried out. All staff had not completed children’s safeguarding training or training relevant to the person’s medical needs. There were no records to show that new staff had shadowed a more experienced staff member. Support plans were not detailed or contained contradictory information. Regular reviews of support plans were carried out, but the shortfalls we found were not identified. Staff were not supported through an induction or regular supervisions. The support plan did not have detailed guidance on how the person needed to be supported in relation to nutrition. The provider's quality assurance systems were not effective.

People were protected from the risk of infection. People 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.

Rating at last inspection: This service was registered with us on 8 July 2020 and this is their first inspection.

Why we inspected: This was a planned comprehensive inspection.

Enforcement

We will continue to monitor the service. We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment, staffing, and good governance.

We have made a recommendation about involving relatives in decisions about people’s care.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.