United Response - Bury DCA

Updated 19 June 2018

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 is 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.

This was an announced inspection and was conducted by one adult social care inspector on the 22 May 2018.

We requested and received a provider information return. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and any improvements they plan to make. We used this information to help plan the inspection.

Before our inspection visit we reviewed the information we held about the service. This included notifications the provider had made to us. Notifications tell us about any incidents or events that affect people who use the service. We did not receive any negative comments from the other organisations we contacted.

We spoke with two people who used the service when we visited them and observed how the registered manager and staff responded to their needs.

During our inspection we observed the support provided by staff. We looked at the care and medicines administration records for two people who used the service and care plans of three people. We also looked at the recruitment, training and supervision records for three members of staff, minutes of meetings and a variety of other records related to the management of the service.

Updated 19 June 2018

Bury DCA is registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. The service specialises in providing support to people with a learning disability. Support is provided both to individuals and to people living in small group settings. There were 17 people currently using the service.

At our last inspection we rated the service 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.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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 had been in post since August 2017.

Staff we spoke with were aware of how to protect vulnerable people and had safeguarding policies and procedures to guide them, which included the contact details of the local authority to report to.

Recruitment procedures were robust and ensured new staff should be safe to work with vulnerable adults. There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs.

There was a medicines policy and guidance for staff around safe administration. Care givers had undertaken training and competency checks were regularly undertaken.

Staff were trained in infection control topics and issued with personal protective equipment to help prevent the spread of infection.

The service was working within the legal requirements of The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA).

People received a nutritious diet and were encouraged to plan their diet, shop and where possible were supported to make their own meals.

Staff received an induction and were supported when they commenced employment to become competent to work with vulnerable people. Staff were well trained and supervised to feel confident within their roles. Staff were encouraged to take further training in health and social care topics such as a diploma.

We visited three people in their own homes and saw staff knew people well and had a kind and caring attitude.

People had a range of activities they could attend which was suitable to their age, gender and beliefs.

There was a relevant complaints procedure. There had been no recent complaints.

There was a recognised management structure. Staff thought the service was well-led and the two people we talked to thought staff were approachable. We observed staff interacting with people who used the service in a friendly and appropriate manner.

There were systems to check the quality of service provision to help management maintain and improve standards.

The service liaised well with other organisations to help meet people’s health and social care needs.