Brownbill Associates Limited

Updated 1 May 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 inspection took place on the 26 March 2018. It was an announced inspection. We told the provider two days before our visit that we would be coming. We did this because the manager is sometimes out of the office supporting staff or visiting people who use the service. We needed to be sure that someone would be in. This inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Before the inspection the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give us key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the completed PIR and notifications we had received. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about in law.

We contacted 28 people. However, the majority of people were unable to speak with us on the phone due to their condition. We spoke in depth to five relatives, three case managers, the head of operations, the clinical director and the manager. We looked at four people’s care records, four staff files and medicine administration records. We also looked at a range of records relating to the management of the service. The methods we used to gather information included pathway tracking, which is capturing the experiences of a sample of people by following a person’s route through the service and getting their views on their care.

Updated 1 May 2018

We undertook an announced inspection of Brownbill Associates Limited on 26 March 2018.

Brownbill Associates provides a brokerage service for people with an acquired disability to enable people to employ their own carers. The agency acts as an intermediary between the person needing the service and specialist agencies who supply people to provide the care (care workers). Brownbill Associates supply case managers that provide training and support to carers directly employed by people receiving support. At the time of the inspection 88 people were 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.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

Why the service is rated Good:

People remained safe. Risk assessments were carried out and promoted positive risk taking which enabled people to live their lives as they chose. People received their medicines safely. The service had robust recruitment procedures which ensured there were sufficient, skilled and qualified staff to meet people’s needs.

People continued to receive effective care from staff who had the skills and knowledge to support them and meet their needs. People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the procedures in the service supported this practice. People were supported to access health professionals when needed and staff worked closely with people's GPs to ensure their health and well-being was monitored.

The service continued to provide support in a caring way. Staff supported people with kindness and compassion. Staff respected people as individuals and treated them with dignity. People were involved in decisions about their care needs and the support they required to meet those needs.

People had access to information about their care and staff supported people in their preferred method of communication. Staff also provided people with emotional support.

The service continued to be responsive to people's needs and ensured people were supported in a personalised way. People's changing needs were responded to promptly and their views were sought and acted upon.

The service was well led by a manager who promoted a service that put people at the forefront of all the service did. There was a positive culture that valued people, relatives and staff and promoted a caring ethos. The manager was in a process of registering with the Care Quality Commission.

The manager monitored the quality of the service and strived for continuous improvement. There was a very clear vision to deliver high quality care and support and promote a positive culture that was person-centred, open and inclusive. This achieved positive outcomes for people and contributed to their quality of life.