Forward Community Care Ltd

Forward Community Care is a supported living service providing personal care support to younger and older adults and those living with a mental health condition. At the time of our inspection there were 2 people using the service.

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

People were not always supported to receive their medicines in a consistent way. Medicines people received on an as required basis did not have a protocol in place for the instances where this should be provided. We raised this the Registered Manager and they took steps to rectify this.

We also noted an electronic medicines administration record (MAR) was used in the majority of medicines administration and when a medicine was given late it was not clear when this had been given on the MAR.

We have made a recommendation about medicines management and recording.

People were supported to receive medicines on time from external health professionals to keep them healthy.

People told us they felt safe. Relatives told us their family member was kept safe at the service.

Staff showed they understood people’s risks and how to protect them from the potential risk of harm by following their risk assessments.

Safeguarding procedures were followed, and staff knew the signs to look for if they suspected abuse and how to report concerns. A safeguarding and whistleblowing policy was available to provide guidance and support.

There were enough staff to support people using the service and people were supported by a consistent staff team. Staff had been recruited to the service following safe recruitment practices.

The risk of infection was minimised and staff followed good hygiene practices. Staff had enough personal protective equipment.

People’s needs were assessed in depth before they began to use the service. People were involved in the care planning process with the relatives.

Staff were supported to have the skills and knowledge when providing care and support to people. Records confirmed specialist training was sourced in mental health to ensure staff could understand people’s needs. Consent to care was requested before it was provided.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. 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 were encouraged to eat healthily and to stay hydrated.

Staff treated people in a kind and respectful way. People were able to build trusting relationships with staff as staff took the time to listen to them and understand their individual needs.

There was no discrimination at the service and people regardless of their race, religion, sexuality or gender were welcome at the service. People’s privacy and dignity and independence was respected and encouraged.

People’s individual care needs were documented and reviewed regularly. People were supported to raise concerns with staff for them to be investigated.

Quality assurance systems were in place to monitor the service. Feedback was requested from people and relatives. Staff enjoyed working at the service and told us the management team were supportive and approachable.

The registered manager showed us records they had applied to have their address changed and this was currently being processed.

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 27 July 2020 and this was the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned comprehensive inspection based on this being a newly registered service.

Follow up

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