Archived: The Wilf Ward Family Trust Domiciliary Care Leeds and Wakefield

Updated 6 September 2016

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

This inspection took place on 12, 19 and 20 July 2016 and was announced on all of the days. The provider was given short notice because the location provides a supported living service; we needed to be sure that someone would be in the location office and arrangements could be made for us to visit people in their own homes. The inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector.

Before the inspection, the provider had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a document that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed all the information we held about the home, including previous inspection reports and statutory notifications. We contacted the local authority and Healthwatch. We were not made aware of any concerns by the local authority. Healthwatch feedback stated they had had some concerns raised with them regarding staff turnover and consistency. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

At the time of the inspection there were 23 people who received support from the service. We visited three of the houses where people lived. We spoke with eight people who used the service, three relatives, eight staff, three cluster managers (managers who managed teams of staff in geographical areas), two deputy regional managers and the head of operations. We spent time looking at documents and records that related to people's care and support and the management of the service. We looked at five people's support plans and five people’s medication records.

Updated 6 September 2016

This was an announced inspection carried out on the 12, 19 and 20 July 2016. At the last inspection in July 2014 we found the provider met the regulations we looked at.

The Wilf Ward Family Trust Domiciliary Care Leeds and Wakefield provides support and care to adults with a learning disability. Care is offered to people in their own homes by teams of staff who provide 24 hour support.

At the time of the inspection, the service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) but they were working their notice. A registered 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People received a safe service and there were procedures were in place to reduce the risk of harm to people. Staff were trained and knew how to report and deal with issues regarding people's safety. Staff had the relevant information about how to minimise identified risks to ensure people were supported in a safe way. Staff were recruited safely which ensured they were of a good character to work with people who used this service.

Overall, people received their medicines as prescribed and safe systems were in place to manage people's medicines. Health care needs were met well, with prompt referrals made when necessary.

The management team and staff had an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. They had made appropriate applications to the relevant authorities to ensure people's rights were protected.

Overall, staff training was updated regularly and staff had regular supervision that helped identify training needs and improve the quality of care.

People were supported to have enough to eat and drink. Staff were aware of people's dietary routines and their likes and dislikes.

Staff understood people's individual needs in relation to their care. People were treated with dignity and respect. Support plans were person centred and reflected individual's preferences.

The service had systems in place to manage complaints and people were informed of the complaints procedures.

Overall, arrangements were in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service, so that actions could be put in place to drive improvements.