Background to this inspection
Updated
22 February 2023
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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.
Inspection team
This inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
This service provides care and support to people living in a 'supported living' setting, so that they can live as independently as possible. People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people's personal care and support.
This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.
At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was unannounced.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was registered with us. 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 spoke with 3 people who used the service and 4 family members about their experience of the care provided. The registered manager was not at the service during our visit. We spoke with the nominated individual/business owner/manager, operations manager and 2 staff members who provided care to people. We contacted 2 healthcare professionals and 2 college tutors to find out their experiences of working with this provider.
We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.
We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people's care plans and risk assessments, medicines management procedures and 2 staff files in relation to training and recruitment data. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits and policies were also reviewed.
Updated
22 February 2023
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.
About the service
Gains House is a supported living service for autistic people and/ or people with learning disabilities and mental health needs. The provider specialises in supporting children and young adults, age 16 to 25 years old. This service provides care and support for up to 4 people living in one adapted building. At the time of the inspection, 4 young adults were receiving help with personal care from this provider. The Care Quality Commission (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
The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.
Right Support: People, their family members and healthcare professions were happy with the care provision and felt that the service was meeting people's care and support needs safely. Staff knew people well and understood their support needs. They valued people's independence and enhanced their choice and control over everyday decisions. People were supported to achieve their goals and aspirations.
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.
Right Care: Staff 's interactions with people were kind and they attended to their care with compassion. Care records were regularly reviewed and robust and included personal information about people's care to guide staff as necessary. Staff were subject to pre-employment checks to ensure their suitability for the role. The provider followed current best practice guidelines regarding the prevention and control of infection. Lessons were learnt quickly and as necessary by the provider.
Right Culture: The staff team worked well together aiming to deliver values based and improvement-driven culture at the service. Staff respected and empowered people's inclusion in the society. Staff told us they were well supported and guided by the management team as necessary. Staff contacted the healthcare professionals for guidance and support when people needed it.
We recommended the provider to improve their governance processes making sure they identify the improvement where it was required. During the inspection we found shortfalls in relation to monitoring systems, access and recording of records, staff's training and 'when required' medicines. We made a recommendation about this.
Procedures were in place to address the concerns and complaints received as necessary.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This was the first inspection of the service since it registered with the CQC on 11 February 2022.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on when the service registered with us.
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.
Recommendations
We recommended the provider to improve their governance systems making sure they effectively monitored the quality and safety of the care people received.
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.