Adswad Ltd

Updated 12 September 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 20, 21 and 22 August 2018 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because we needed to be sure the person who managed the service would be available. The inspection was undertaken by an adult social care inspector.

We visited the office location to see the staff and review records and policies and procedures. We spoke with the registered manager, the senior support worker who supported the registered manager in the day to day running of the service and also provided some personal care to people who used the service. We spoke with two support workers which we met while visiting people who used the service. They told us about their role within the service and about the training and support they had received.

On the second and third days we visited five people who used the service in their homes. We spoke with one person on the telephone. They told us about their experiences and views on the service they received from Adswad Ltd.

Before the inspection, the provider was asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We considered this information during our inspection. We looked at the notifications received and reviewed all the intelligence the Care Quality Commission held to help inform us about the level of risk for this service.

Prior to our inspection we asked for feedback about the service from a care manager from Sheffield City Council and an independent advocate, which we received. We used all this information to help us make a judgement about this service.

Updated 12 September 2018

This inspection took place on 20, 21 and 22 August 2018 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because we needed to be sure the person who managed the service would be available. The inspection was undertaken by an adult social care inspector.

Adswad Ltd is a domiciliary care service. They are registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. Although it also provided safe and well checks, support for medical appointments and befriending services which are not regulated by CQC. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting 14 people with a variety of care needs including older people and younger people with a disability. Care and support was co-ordinated from the services office which is based on the outskirts of Sheffield.

Adswad Ltd has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

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 on-going 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.

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At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

The service has a registered manager. 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.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the schemes guided practice. People were involved and consulted about all aspects of their care and support, where they were able, including suggestions for activities.

Support workers we spoke with had a clear understanding of safeguarding people and they would act appropriately to safeguard people from abuse.

People's needs had been assessed before their care package commenced and they told us they had been involved in formulating and updating their care plans. We found the information contained in the care records we looked at was individualised and clearly identified people's needs and choices, as well as any risks associated with their care and the environment they lived in.

There was a recruitment system in place that helped the employer make safer recruitment decisions when employing new staff. We found some files required additional references. The registered manager confirmed to us after the inspection that all staff files had been checked and contained two references.

There was a programme of training, supervision and appraisal to support workers and office staff to support people using the schemes.

We observed good interactions between support workers and people who used the service. People were encouraged to make decisions about meals and involved in menu planning.

Complaints procedures were in place and the registered manager told us they were developing an easy read version for those that needed an alternative format.

There were effective systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided. We saw copies of checks undertaken by the registered manager and senior support worker at the service. The reports included any actions required and these were checked periodically to determine progress. We found some of the policies and procedures had not been reviewed or were missing. The registered manager confirmed to us after the inspection that policies had been updated and we saw evidence of this when we visited people who used the service.

Further information is in the detailed findings below