The inspection took place on 15 and 21 January 2015. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a supported living service to people in their own homes and we needed to be sure that someone would be in. The service was last inspected in February 2014 where we found minor concerns with regard to how the provider assessed and monitored the quality of the service. During this inspection we found improvements had been made which meant the provider was now meeting the requirements of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010.
Fylde Domiciliary Service is one of a number of services provided by Lancashire County Council.
Fylde Domiciliary Service provides personal care services to adults with learning disabilities in their own homes. This arrangement is called ‘supported living’ because people are supported to live, often in groups, in properties which are provided by a social or other landlord. The service provides 24 hour support to 25 people in the Warton, Lytham and St Annes areas.
The service has 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.
We found people were supported by a stable staff team who had been trained to keep people safe and to prevent avoidable harm. Staff told us they would not hesitate to raise concerns about poor practice. There were safe and effective systems in place to manage people’s medicines.
Staff had a good knowledge of people’s needs and had received training in specialised subjects to ensure they could meet people’s individual needs. People were encouraged and supported to lead a healthy and active lifestyle as much as they were able.
People’s privacy, dignity and independence was respected and promoted by staff who were kind, caring and considerate in their approach. People and their relatives were complimentary about the service provided.
We found that Fylde Domiciliary Service provided a personalised service to the people they supported. People were able to be as independent as they wished and could pursue their own leisure or work interests. Staff provided support which was tailored to their individual needs.
The service made sure people received a high quality of support in a number of ways. These included staff supervision and appraisal, regular team meetings and sharing best practice across the provider group. People and their relatives were asked for their views and opinions about the support provided and staff were also able to contribute ideas and suggestions to improve the service.