AJ and Friends

AJ and Friends provides personal care and support to young people in their own homes. The service supports people with complex physical health needs and people with autism and/or learning delays. 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. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting five people with personal care.

People's experience of using the service and what we found

Family members spoke enthusiastically about how consistently kind and caring the provider and staff were and the positive impact this had on their relative’s lives. They told us their own lives had been enriched by the support they and their relatives received from the provider and staff. One family member told us, “I would be lost without them [staff and provider]. They have been my rock.”

Staff were highly motivated to provide person-centred, compassionate care that celebrated people’s unique characteristics. A manager told us, “I am proud of what we do, who we are and what we stand for. We just want them [people] to be happy. We want to make a difference to these [people’s] lives.”

The provider showed immense passion and desire to provide people and their family members with care and support that enabled them all to live a better life. The provider’s own personal experiences had been the driving force behind the development of the service and the wider support they offered. Family members and professionals described the provider as ‘brilliant’, ‘amazing’, ‘a knight in shining armour’ and ‘heart of gold’.

It was clear that staff understood and shared the provider’s vision and values and were proud to work for the service. One staff member told us, “It is very clear [provider] is all about the [people] and the families. She is very passionate about what she does.”

The provider demonstrated a high level of experience and capability to deliver excellent care; they were extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic and worked hard to continuously improve the service. Professionals spoke highly of the provider and the additional support they offered for people outside of the service. Extensive links with the community had been developed to bring greater awareness about young people living with disabilities.

Risks to people's health and well-being had been assessed and appropriate plans in place to manage identified risks and keep people safe. Family members told us they were confident their relatives were safe and well looked after by staff. Staff had received safeguarding training and knew what action to take if they had any concerns.

A holistic approach had been adopted in the assessing, planning and delivery of people's care and support. Care plans were extremely detailed and identified intended outcomes for people.

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.

People received care that was based on their individual needs and preferences. Staff supported and encouraged people to access activities they liked. Family members spoke positively about the impact these activities had on their relative’s social skills and communication.

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

Rating at the last inspection

This service was registered with us on 24 September 2019 and this is the first 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.