We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.Project Care is a domiciliary care service providing personal care for autistic people or people living with a learning disability in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were two people receiving support 24 hours a day.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support
Staff supported people to have choice, control and independence over their lives. People received their care and support in a safe, clean, well equipped, well-furnished and well-maintained environment that met their needs. Each house reflected the persons interests and they had been supported to choose their furniture and colour schemes.
Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that achieved best possible health outcomes. Staff supported people to access health and social care support, which included a regular review of their prescribed medicines.
The service supported people to have maximum possible choice, control and independence. The service encouraged people to be involved fully in discussions about their care and support. People told us they always decided on their chosen activities and meals and how they wanted their care to be delivered. People were supported by staff to pursue their interests and to achieve their aspirations and goals. For example, one person was being supported to arrange a holiday.
Right Care
People’s dignity and human rights were promoted, and people were encouraged to make decisions about their day to day routines. People received kind and compassionate care and staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to people’s individual needs
Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and potential harm. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and knew how to report any concerns. There were sufficient numbers of staff who were appropriately skilled to meet people’s needs and keep them safe.
People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them as staff supported them consistently and knew them well. People received care that focused on their quality of life and followed best practice, with input from a range of health and social care professionals.
Staff, relatives and people worked together to assess risks people might face. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.
Right Culture
Some areas of the providers governance systems needed to be strengthened. Staff supervision and staff meetings were not in place and used to develop and motivate staff, review their practice or behaviours, and focus on professional development. However, the registered manager showed us an action plan that had identified this as an area for development with a timescale for completion.
People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff team. People appeared relaxed within their home and in the presence of staff. We observed them being supported to make decisions about their day that included meals, activities and health needs. Staff were respectful of people and their homes and always asked permission before they used the bathroom or had a glass of water.
Relatives told us they were fully involved in their family members care and support and they spoke of the open culture, and regular contact and visits to see their family members.
Staff placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. People and those important to them, were involved in planning their care. The service evaluated the quality of support provided to people, involving the person, their families and other professionals as appropriate.
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 5 June 2019 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture.
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.