Archived: The Care Partnership

Updated 6 August 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 [the Act] as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one Inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. The registered manager was also supported by three care managers.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced. The inspection site activity started on 17 July 2019. The second day inspection site activity was announced and took place on 18 July 2019 and the third day was announced and carried out on the 24 July 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the two finance directors and the registered manager. We also looked at records relating to the running of the home. Records included, two care plans, two medicine records, training data, two staff files and quality assurance records.

Updated 6 August 2019

About the service

The Care Partnership Limited is a domiciliary care agency. The agency specialises in providing care to adults who have a learning disability, physical disability and/or sensory impairments. The Care Partnership is classed as a small agency which means that it provides support with personal care to no more than 100 people. At the time of this inspection the agency was providing support with personal care to six people. The people we met had very complex physical and learning disabilities and not all were able to communicate with us verbally. We therefore used our observations of care and our discussions with staff, relatives and professionals to help form our judgements.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were supported by staff that were caring and treated them with dignity and respect. Staff understood the needs of the people they supported well and knew them as a person. All the feedback we received from people’s relatives and healthcare professionals was positive.

Risks of abuse to people were minimised. Assessments of people’s needs identified known risks and risk management guidance was produced for staff which they understood.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. There were systems in place that ensured people who were deprived of their liberty were done so with the appropriate legal authority.

People were supported by staff who had the skills and knowledge to meet their needs. Staff felt supported by the registered manager. Staff understood their role and received appropriate training that supported them in their roles.

Staff worked together with a range of healthcare professionals to achieve positive outcomes for people and followed professional advice to achieve this which included administering people’s medicines as prescribed.

People’s care plans were consistent and had a person-centred approach to care planning. Staff supported people to maintain important relationships and continue personal hobbies and interests.

Since 2016 onwards all organisations that provide publicly funded adult social care are legally required to follow the Accessible Information Standard [AIS]. The standard was introduced to make sure people are given information in a way they can understand. The registered manager was aware of the AIS and ensured information was shared in an accessible way.

People's concerns and complaints were listened to and responded to. Accidents, incidents and complaints were reviewed to learn and improve the service. People and their relatives commented positively about the registered manager and the quality of care their family member received. No concerns were raised about the quality of care provided.

Quality monitoring systems included regular audits to ensure people received good care. These were effective and evidenced that The Care Partnership had an effective governance system in place.

The registered manager had ensured all relevant legal requirements, including registration and safety obligations, and the submission of notifications, had been complied with. The registered manager felt staff had a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. This was evident to us throughout the inspection.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 29 November 2017 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on this being the first inspection for this service..

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.