Domiciliary Services Shrewsbury

Updated 19 April 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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.

Inspection team:

The inspection was completed by one Adult Social Care inspector.

Service and service type:

Domiciliary Services Adelphi Care Services Limited is a domiciliary care service. The service operates a supported living service and outreach provision to adults with complex care needs and learning difficulties.

The service had a manager registered with The Care Quality Commission (CQC). This means that they and the registered provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit. This was because it is a small service and the registered manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in the office when we visited.

What we did:

Before our inspection we looked at information we held about the service. The registered provider had completed a Provider Information Return form (PIR). A PIR is a form we ask registered providers to submit annually detailing what the service does well and what improvements they plan to make. We reviewed information stored on our database, such as notifications that the registered manager is required, by law, to submit to us as and when incidents had occurred. We also spoke to the Local authority and commissioning team to gain feedback about the service. We used all this information to formulate a planning tool; this helped us to identify key areas we needed to focus on during the inspection.

The inspection took place on 18 March 2019.

During the inspection we spoke with the registered manager, one deputy manager and six members of staff. We also spoke with two people receiving support and one relative who agreed to provide feedback about the quality and safety of care their loved one received. We also checked four care records of people in receipt of support, recruitment records of four members of staff and other records relating to the overall management and quality monitoring of the service.

Updated 19 April 2019

About the Service:

Domiciliary Services, Adelphi Care Services Limited operates a supported living service and outreach provision to adults. The registered provider specialises in delivering care to people with learning disabilities and people on the autistic spectrum.

A supported living service enables people with a learning disability to live in their own home and the outreach provision is a service which supports people to access their local community with support from staff. At the time of the inspection four people were receiving support.

People’s experience of using this service:

People were protected from harm and avoidable abuse; staff were familiar with safeguarding procedures and knew how to report any concerns as and when they presented.

People’s level of risk was assessed from the outset. Support measures were put in place and the level of risk was monitored and assessed.

Safe medication practices were in place; people received support with their medication from staff who were trained and had their competency levels checked.

Staffing levels were safely managed. Staff told us that continuity of care was provided and people received support from staff who were familiar with their support needs.

Safe recruitment practices were in place. All staff who were employed had been appropriately vetted and the necessary pre-employment checks had been carried out.

The registered provider complied with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act, 2005. Staff understood and respected people’s right to make their own decisions and where possible, encouraged people to make decisions about the care they received.

Care records contained person-centred information. Staff were able to develop a good understanding of people’s likes, wishes and preferences.

People and relatives told us that staff provided care that was kind, sincere and compassionate. One relative said, “The staff are brilliant.”

People were actively encouraged to engage in hobbies and interests that they enjoyed. Staff supported people to access the local community, participate in voluntary work and community events.

People received a ‘service user’ guide from the outset. This was provided in an ‘easy read’ format and contained important information about the quality and safety of care people could expect to receive.

The registered provider had a complaints process and policy in place. People were provided with the complaint information and the registered manager maintained a good level of oversight in relation to the complaints that were submitted and if any lessons could be learnt.

The quality and safety of the care was continuously monitored and assessed. The registered manager had a number of different processes and systems in place to ensure people were receiving high-quality, person centred care.

We received positive feedback from people, staff and relatives about the provision of care that was delivered and the positive difference Domiciliary Services Adelphi Care Services had on people’s lives.

People were encouraged to share their thoughts, views and suggestions about the quality and safety of care being provided. We saw evidence of improvements and developments that had been made based on feedback people had provided.

Rating at last inspection: At the last inspection service was rated ‘Good’ (report published June 2016). At this inspection we found that the registered provider continued to provide a good provision of care. The evidence we reviewed and feedback we received continued to support the rating of ‘good’; there was no evidence or information from our inspection or ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns.

Why we inspected: This was a planned, announced inspection to confirm that the service remained 'good'.