Quality Care Providers Limited

Quality Care Providers Ltd. is a care home (without nursing) which is registered to provide a service for up to six people with learning disabilities. People may have associated difficulties such as behavioural issues and/or being on the autistic spectrum.

People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Quality Care Providers Ltd. accommodates people in an adapted domestic sized building. The service was run in line with the values that underpin the “registering the right support’’ and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism can lead as ordinary a life as any citizen.

At the last inspection, on 01 June 2016, the service was rated as good in all domains. This meant that the service was rated as overall good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

People continued to be protected from all forms of abuse. Staff knew what action to take if they had any concerns about people’s safety. The service identified general health and safety risks and any risk to individuals. All identified risks to staff and people were reduced as much as possible.

People continued to be supported by enough staff to keep them as safe as possible. Staff could meet people’s diverse and complex needs, safely. Recruitment systems made sure, that as far as possible, staff recruited were safe and suitable to work with people. People’s medicines continued to be given at the right times and in the correct amounts by trained and competent staff.

The staff team continued to be appropriately trained and were able to offer people effective care. They met people’s diverse needs including their current and changing health and emotional well-being needs. The service worked closely with health and other professionals to ensure they offered individuals the most effective care.

People were assisted 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.

The staff team remained caring and committed and continued to meet people’s needs with kindness and respect. They ensured they promoted people’s privacy and dignity and communicated with them effectively.

The service was person centred and responded to people’s diverse, individualised needs and aspirations. Activity programmes were designed to meet people’s individual preferences and choices. Care planning was regularly reviewed which ensured people’s current needs were met and their equality and diversity was respected.

The registered manager was experienced and respected. She and the management team ensured the service continued to be well-led. The registered manager and the staff team were committed to ensuring there was no discrimination relating to staff or people in the service. The quality of care the service provided was assessed, reviewed and improved, as necessary.

Quality Care Providers is a residential care home which provides a service for people with learning disabilities and who may have associated behavioural difficulties. The service is registered to provide care for up to six people, there were five people living there on the day of the visit. People were provided with ground or first floor accommodation.

There is a registered manager (who was also the provider) running the service. 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.

People who live in the service, staff and visitors were kept as safe from harm as possible. Staff received training to ensure they knew how to keep people safe from any form of abuse. The service had health and safety policies and procedures which staff followed to keep people, themselves and visitors as safe as possible. Risks were identified and appropriate action was taken to reduce them. There were high staff ratios to ensure people were looked after safely. Medicines were given safely by staff who had been trained in and fully understood medicines administration.

People were supported to meet their health and well-being needs. Staff were responsive to people’s changing needs and preferences. They sought advice from and worked closely with health and other professionals to help them to care for people in the best way. Staff were well trained to enable them to meet people’s diverse needs.

People’s rights were protected by a knowledgeable staff and management team. The service understood the relevance of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and consent issues which related to the people in their care. The MCA provides a legal framework that sets out how to act to support people who may not have capacity to do so. People were helped to make decisions and choices about their daily lives.

A very stable, consistent and caring staff team provided care to people they knew well and whose needs they fully understood. People were treated with respect and dignity at all times. Staff understood what person centred (individualised) care meant and why it was important. People were encouraged to participate in a variety of activities, according to their needs, abilities and preferences.

The service was well-led by a respected registered manager and management team. The service had an open and positive management style which encouraged people, staff and others to express their views and opinions. The quality of the care provided was monitored by the management team who made improvements, as and when necessary or when identified for the development of the service.

In the care records we looked at we saw that the people who use the service had been encouraged to contribute to their care plan. We saw evidence that people had been asked what they liked and disliked. A representative told us that they are invited to reviews of their relative.

We saw that individual dietary needs had been assessed and foods such as an halal diet were respected. People whose first language was not British were communicated with using signs, symbols and pictures. This meant that the staff treated people equally and respected diversity.

Care plans were up to date and reflected the needs of people using the service. Reviews of people's care had been completed and representatives and health and social care professionals had attended the review. In the records we looked at we saw that people had a comprehensive risk assessment that specific and what actions staff needed to take to minimize risks.

The staff we spoke with understood the needs of the people they supported very well. Staff talked to us in great detail about the individual risks that people posed when they became angry or distressed. The staff explained the de-escalation techniques required to ensure that people remained calm.

We looked at policies and procedures and saw that the provider had an up to date adult safeguarding policy and procedure. There was also a policy about restraint and de-escalation of risky situations. The staff we spoke with had recently attended training on the policies.

We looked at how the provider ensured people were given their medication safely. We found that the provider had up to date medication polices in place and medication was stored safely. Procedures were in place to ensure that administration of medication was given safely.