Swan Care Solutions

Updated 24 February 2024

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in 7 supported living settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

Inspection activity started on 14 December 2023 and ended on 4 January 2024. We visited the location’s office/service on 15 December 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since registration. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 1 person and one relative about their experiences of the service. We spoke with 7 staff including support workers, team leaders and managers. We reviewed 3 care plans and looked at records including recruitment files, audits, and training records.

Updated 24 February 2024

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.

About the service

Swan Care Solutions is a supported living provider, providing the regulated activity of personal care. The service provides support to people with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, mental health needs, physical disabilities, older people, and younger adults. People have either their own house or flat or share one with other people using the service at multiple different locations.

At the time of our inspection there were 2 people using the service. 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.

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

Right Support:

Risk assessments and management plans sometimes lacked detail about how to support people safely. Staff recruitment had not consistently been completed in line with the provider’s policy. People were supported by staff who understood how to keep them safe from the risk of abuse and manage risks to their safety. There were enough staff to support people to maintain their safety. People were supported to maintain their independence, to follow their individual interests and maintain important relationships. People had support to manage their health needs and maintain a healthy diet. Staff understood how to minimise the risk of cross infection. 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.

Right Care:

Staff had not consistently had an induction and staff training was not always up to date.

People were supported by staff who knew them well and staff were kind and caring. People received their medicines as prescribed. People told us they had choices about how they spent their time and were able to make decisions for themselves. Staff were respectful of people and understood how to support people to maintain their privacy. People had their individual needs and preferences assessed and care plans put in place. Staff understood people’s preferences.

Right Culture:

Systems had not consistently ensured records completed about people’s daily life were respectful. Systems did not consistently ensure recruitment practice was in line with the provider’s policy. A learning from incidents system was in place to share learning from incidents with staff and prevent reoccurrence. People were supported to express their preferences, and these were used with staff to design individual support. People had their protected characteristics understood by staff. People and relatives understood how to make a complaint. People and their relatives were asked for their feedback on the service.

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 24 July 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about staff training, recruitment, and risk management. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe, effective, and well-led sections of the full report.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.