This announced inspection took place on 2 May 2017. We last inspected in March 2015 and found the service was meeting the legal requirements in force at that time and had given the service a Good rating.The provider was given 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because the location provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. As the people who use this service often accessed community activities we needed to make sure people were available to speak to us.
Chrysalis provides personal care to people who have a learning disability or other complex needs. At the time of our inspection Chrysalis were offering support to two individuals who lived in a supported living tenancy and to two people living in the community. The organisation runs a day service for people who have a learning disability and runs a social enterprise shop in the town of Wigton.
There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager (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.
The feedback we received from people using the service and their relatives was very positive. Social and healthcare professionals were all very complimentary about the working relationships with the service. One healthcare professional told us, “This service is one that I would feel proud to work in.”
We saw the service had a very strong, visible person-centred culture. All staff were passionate about caring and supporting people in ways that mattered to the individual. The service demonstrated an excellent commitment to providing care which was of a high quality and staff were very enthusiastic about supporting people to lead interesting lives of their own choosing. The service put people’s views at the forefront of the service and designed the service around people’s needs.
People made great progress whilst they used the service and people were encouraged to discover and achieve their goals and aspirations. The manager and senior team spoke of their passion to give people the best support possible.
People's experiences of care were overwhelmingly positive. People were treated with care, compassion and great kindness. Staff had an empowering and empathetic attitude to support people’s personal development, and each person was supported in a way that was individual to them and in ways that promoted their independence.
People were protected from the risk of abuse, because the provider had taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent abuse from happening. People told us they felt very safe and were well cared for. Staff were confident about how to protect people from harm and what they would do if they had any safeguarding concerns.
Newly recruited staff had thorough pre-employment checks and received induction that prepared them for the demands of their job. Staff confirmed their induction had equipped them well with the essential knowledge and practical guidance they needed before they took up their care duties. All staff felt very supported by the organisation and had very good opportunities for personal development and career progression.
Training was given a very high priority in this service. A dedicated training manager was employed who had developed a programme of extensive training that was designed around the needs of the people they were supporting. The management team identified and utilised the strengths of the staffing team.
People’s rights were protected and staff obtained people’s consent before providing care. The manager understood their responsibility to comply with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). People made informed choices and were enabled to be involved in decisions.
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 service supported this practice.
The nutritional needs of people using the service were assessed and regularly monitored. People took as much control over their nutrition as they were able and staff supported people to learn and understand the importance of this.
The provider took people’s safety very seriously. Comprehensive risk assessments were in place to reduce and manage the risks to peoples’ health and welfare. There were systems in place to make sure that people were supported to take medicines safely and as prescribed.
People’s choices were at the forefront of the service and people were encouraged to be involved and have a say about matters that had an impact on them. People were given every opportunity to be involved in the running of the service and to provide their opinions and feedback about what they wanted.
Complaints were taken seriously and appropriately investigated with action taken to make improvements to the service when this was found to be necessary. People knew how to raise concerns and complaints and felt comfortable doing so.
The service had a strong leadership team who promoted clear values and an open culture. The manager demonstrated a very good understanding of the importance of effective quality assurance systems in promoting a high quality of service. Both the manager and the senior team had high expectations of staff and gave them as much support and training needed to provide a reliable, efficient and compassionate service to people. Staff were extremely proud to work for the organisation.