Zero Three Domiciliary Care

Updated 25 December 2021

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

The inspection was completed by two inspectors.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

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.

Notice of inspection

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we gave a short period notice of the inspection to enable us to collate as much information as possible virtually to minimise the time spent by the inspection team visiting the provider’s office.

Inspection activity started on 13 October 2021 and ended on 21 October 2021. We visited the office location on 14 October 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was registered. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service and five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the registered manager, locations manager, senior care workers and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We sought feedback from three professionals who regularly visit the service.

Updated 25 December 2021

About the service

Zero Three Care Domiciliary Care is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care to people living in supported living accommodation. The service provides specialist care to people with a learning disability. Many people using the service have a diagnosis of Autism, neurological difficulties and/or other complex needs. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting eight people, all of whom received personal care. Support is provided in six individual flats and one 3-bedded house currently shared by two people.

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.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. Zero Three Domiciliary Care had been developed and designed to ensure people using the service live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The provision of planned, inclusive, person centred support had truly transformed the lives of the people providing opportunities and life experiences which had previously not been accessible to them.

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

The registered manager was passionate about ensuring the service provided person-centred care. They led by example and were highly visible and approachable in the service for people, relatives and staff. Staff emulated the culture of the service and were dedicated to empowering people to achieve the best possible outcomes.

The values of the service placed people at the centre of its decision making. There was an open and transparent culture which enabled people, relatives and staff to voice their opinions and focused on continuous improvement. The service had a clear vision for what it wanted to achieve, and a detailed strategy was in place to put this into practice. Staff felt respected, valued and supported by the leadership of the service. Without exception, relatives told us the service was exceptional.

Staff supported people to maximise their emotional and physical potential through a collaborative and supportive approach to care. This enabled people to work towards attaining individual goals and personal aspirations. Staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People had been assessed to ensure the service could meet their needs. Care assessment and planning records were detailed to enable close monitoring of peoples' care, progress and future planning. Information about people’s likes and dislikes and how staff should support them were in place. The service was proactive in its response to concerns or complaints and people and relatives were given the opportunity to feedback their experiences.

Staff had completed training which provided them with the knowledge to assess, monitor and support people. Staff had built effective working relationships with other health and social care professionals involved in people's care to ensure they received a high level of care and support.

Staff were provided with safeguarding training and understood how to keep people safe.

Risks in people's daily lives were assessed and mitigated with a focus on positive risk taking. There was an open and transparent culture in relation to accidents and incidents and they were used as opportunities to learn and lessen risks.

Safe staff recruitment procedures were in place. Staff recruitment processes were designed to meet people’s individual needs. There were enough staff numbers and flexibility to provide the care and support required by people to meet their individual needs.

Medicines were safely managed, and effective infection control procedures were in place.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The registered manager had worked for the provider for a number of years and had been involved in previous CQC inspections at different locations They had used the lessons learned from this to develop an exceptional service which enabled people with very complex needs to move out of residential settings and have their own tenancies, offering them choice and an alternative to more institutional care.

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 12/06/2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection.

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.