Background to this inspection
Updated
2 February 2016
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was 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.
The inspection was carried by one inspector on 17 November 2015 and was announced. We gave 48 hours’ notice prior to the inspection because we needed to be sure that someone would be available.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. Providers are required to notify the Care Quality Commission about events and incidents that occur including deaths, injuries to people receiving care and safeguarding matters. We refer to these as notifications. We reviewed the notifications the provider had sent us and additional information we had requested from the local authority safeguarding team and local commissioners of the service.
The provider had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
We spoke with three people who used the service, five relatives, two support workers, two care coordinators, two professionals who worked in collaboration with the provider and the registered manager.
We looked at seven people’s care records to help us identify if people received planned care and we reviewed records relating to the management of the service. These records helped us understand how the provider responded to and acted on issues related to the care and welfare of people. We looked at the various audits the provider carried to ensure that they provided quality services.
Updated
2 February 2016
We inspected the Living Independently Staffordshire - Moorlands service on 17 November 2015. The location was registered with us in December 2014 and had never been inspected by us.
The provider is a domiciliary care service, registered to provide personal care to people living their own homes. At the time of our inspection, 58 people received support with their personal needs from staff at the service.
There was a registered manager in post. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
All the people we spoke with told us they felt safe and protected from harm. They were confident that staff would take action if they were at risk of harm. Staff understood what constituted abuse and knew what actions to take if abuse was suspected.
People had risk assessments and risk management plans in place to guide staff on how care was to be provided in order to prevent or minimise the risk of people coming to harm. People’s care needs were planned and reviewed regularly to meet their needs. There were sufficient numbers of staff employed to meet people’s needs.
People’s needs were assessed before they started using the service to identify if they could be met by the provider. Staff had the knowledge and skills to care and support people.
Legal requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) were followed when people were unable to make certain decisions about their care. The MCA provides a legal framework for making particular decisions on behalf of people who may lack the mental capacity to do so for themselves.
People told us the staff supported them to eat and drink sufficient amounts if they needed support. Other health and social care professionals were involved when staff had concerns about people’s health and wellbeing.
People were involved in the care planning process and in decisions about their care and treatment. They told us that staff were kind and treated them with dignity and respect.
Care was tailored to meet people’s individual needs. Care plans detailed how people wished to be supported. There were systems in place to support people if they wished to complain or raise concerns about the service.
The provider had systems in place to regularly monitor the quality of services provided. The registered manager demonstrated good management and leadership of the service and understood their responsibilities. Staff felt supported to carry out their roles effectively.