Archived: Mencap Domiciliary Care Southend

Mencap (Southend) is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care to people in their own home. The service supports some people on a 24-hour basis and others who may require support with personal care needs at specific times during the day and /or night. The service was supporting people with personal care at the time of our inspection. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. The care is provided to people in a supported living capacity across five individual homes where people live in their own tenancies. At the time of our inspection the service was providing bespoke, flexible support packages to 15 people. There was support provided 24/7 where required and the service aimed to enable people to live as independently as possible within the community.

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

We made recommendations to record people’s end of life wishes.

Staff had the right skills and experience to meet people's needs. A comprehensive induction and training programme was completed by all staff. Assessments were carried out to ensure people's needs could be met. Staff understood people's likes, dislikes and preferences and people told us they were offered choices about their care.

People were supported to have their medicines correctly and staff had been trained. Medication audits and spot checks were carried out. Systems and processes were in place to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. Staff knew how to prevent the spread of infection.

Assessments were in place which detailed people’s needs and choices. Staff had been trained and were given regular supervision. People were supported to eat and drink in line with their assessed needs. 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.

Care plans were individual and contained information about how people preferred to communicate and their ability to make decisions.

Relatives and staff were complimentary about the management of the service. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities in providing safe and good quality care to the people who used the service.

The management team had systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service provided. Regular surveys were carried out with a range of people, relatives, staff and professionals. Information was used to make improvements to the service.

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

Rating at last inspection good. (18 January 2016)

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection.

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.

Mencap Domiciliary Care Southend provides a service offering community support and personal care. The domiciliary agency provides practical day to day support for adults who have learning disabilities and other associated needs. The care is provided to people in a supported living capacity across five individual homes where people live in their own tenancies. At the time of our inspection the service was providing bespoke, flexible support packages to 15 people. There was support provided 24/7 where required and the service aimed to enable people to live as independently as possible within the community.

The offices of the service are situated on the ground floor of an industrial park and were wheelchair accessible.

The service is required to and did have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager oversees the running of the whole service and is supported by two service managers all of whom have the necessary training to support the people who use the service.

Staff had good knowledge of their responsibilities and how to keep people safe. Staff understood their roles in relation to encouraging people’s independence whilst mitigating potential risks. We saw how staff were actively taking steps to help people acknowledge risks and how to keep themselves safe. Medicines were prompted or administered and managed safely where necessary.

There were sufficient numbers of support staff to provide people a flexible and person centred service. A robust recruitment process was in place and staff were recruited and employed upon completion of appropriate checks.

People’s rights were also protected because management and staff understood the framework of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). Management applied and ensured such measures were appropriately adhered to. Staff supported people to maintain healthy balanced diets and encouraged people to make healthy choices. Staff and managers supported people to access healthcare services. Appropriate systems were in place to make certain appointments with health professionals were attended to ensure good health of the people.

The service provided good care and support to people that enabled them to live meaningful lives. There was a visible, person-centred culture whereby people and staff had built positive relationships. People had also been supported to create and build friendships with each other to form a community. Dignity and confidentiality was valued by staff and were observed to be respectful and caring towards people.

People were provided support in a person centred way by staff who clearly displayed good knowledge of the people they supported. People were helped to identify their own interests and pursue them with staff who also enjoyed the same interests.

People, relatives and/or their representatives, where appropriate, were involved in making decisions about their care and support. People's needs were regularly reviewed, re-assessed with them and the care plans changed to meet their needs. The changes were recorded and updated in the person's file that was regularly monitored and reviewed.

The service was well led and ran effectively using the provider’s uniformed quality monitoring and compliance tools. A complaints procedure was in place and had been used appropriately by management. Systems were in place to make sure that people’s views were gathered and acted upon.