19 October 2023
During an inspection looking at part of the service
About the service
Doncaster Community Support is situated in the Kirk Sandall area of Doncaster. It provides care and support through a domiciliary care service and supported living service to people who live in their own homes. The service provides support to people living with a learning disability or autism spectrum disorder and older people. At the time of our inspection there were 107 people receiving a service from this provider.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support:
People were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service did not support this practice. We have made a recommendation about staffing; people received the care and support they needed to be safe, however, there were not always enough staff on duty for people to access community leave and appointments. People had a choice about their living environment and were able to personalise their rooms.
Right Care:
People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. People could take part in activities and pursue interests that were tailored to them. The service gave people opportunities to try new activities that enhanced and enriched their lives.
Right Culture:
The provider did not have an effective governance system in place to identify issues we found on inspection. However, the registered manager and service managers were working hard to improve the culture and embed an ethos of learning and development within parts of the service. We have made a recommendation about supervision as staff in all areas of the service did not always receive regular 1-1 supervision. Staff knew and understood people well and were responsive, supporting their aspirations to live a quality of life of their choosing. People and those important to them were involved in planning their care.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 5 December 2017)
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.
You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Doncaster Community Support on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement and Recommendations
We have identified breaches in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and good governance. We have made recommendations the provider ensures there are enough staff on duty, so people have access to the community and medical appointments and all staff within the service receive 1-1 supervision.
Follow up
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.