Persona Domiciliary Support Service

Updated 20 March 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 checked 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.

The inspection was undertaken by one adult care inspector, took place on 15 and 16 August 2017 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be available to support us with our inspection.

Before our inspection, we reviewed the information we held about the service including notifications the provider had sent to us. We contacted the local authority safeguarding and commissioning teams. They raised no concerns about the care and support people received from the service.

We had requested the service complete a provider information return (PIR); this is a form that asks the provider to give us some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. A detailed response was returned to us by the service.

During our inspection, with their permission we visited four households. We spoke with five people and spent time with five people who had nonverbal signs for communication. The people who we visited had a wide range of care and support needs. We also spoke with three relatives. We also spoke with one of the registered managers, three senior support workers and five support workers.

We reviewed a range of records relating to how the service was managed; these included five people’s care records and staff training records.

Updated 20 March 2018

This inspection was unannounced and took place on 15 and 16 August 2017. This is a longstanding service, which was previously delivered by Bury Council as Learning Disability Support Team 1 and the Positive Lives Team. These were two of a number of services that opted out of local authority control to create Persona Care and Support Limited a new legal entity. This was the first inspection of this service of Persona Learning Disability Team.

Just before our inspection we were informed that, due to a restructure Persona Learning Disability Team was going to be known as Persona Domiciliary Support Service and the provider formally notified us of this. This was because the registered provider was in the process of developing an older person’s service that would deliver personal care. This report only relates to the learning disability mainly supported living services delivered by the registered provider.

At the time of our inspection, 90 people were using the service to receive care in their own homes. These ranged from 24 hour supported living to a minimal support of a small number of hours per week.

The service had two managers who were registered with CQC. 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 had been made aware that during the restructuring process a decision had been made to reduce the registered manager for the learning disability team to one. We spent time with the registered manager who was taking the management of the learning disability teams forward.

People told us that they felt safe. Staff had received training in safeguarding adults. They were able to tell us of the action they would take to protect people who used the service from the risk of abuse.

Procedures were in place to help ensure staff were safely recruited to ensure that people were not supported by staff who were unsuitable to work with vulnerable people. Improvements were made to the application form for new staff on the first day of our inspection.

People received reliable, consistent and flexible support from staff who knew them well. We saw sufficient numbers of staff were available to help ensure people’s assessed needs and wishes were met.

Detailed risk management plans were in place to guide staff on the action to take to mitigate the identified risks of the people they support.

Systems were in place to ensure the safe handling of medicines and to reduce the risk of cross infection in the service.

Staff received the training and support from the service to help support people safely and effectively and adhere to the organisations strong value base.

The service was always looking for creative and innovative ways to improve the service and promote people’s health and independence by working with other health and social care professionals and by using new technology where appropriate.

The service worked closely with other healthcare professionals to help ensure that people received the service they needed quickly.

People we spoke with said they were very happy with the support provided.

People who were able told us they could make decisions about their individual support to help improve their confidence and promote their independence.

Where able, people were involved in developing their support plan.

People we spoke with did not raise any complaints or concerns about the service. They told us they would speak to staff or the registered manager. They were confident that any concerns they raised would be listened to and action taken to resolve the issue.

There were systems in place to monitor and review the quality and health and safety of the service. Staff members we spoke with said that both registered managers were very approachable and supportive