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

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.

Below is the summary of what we found but if you want to see the evidence supporting our summary please read our full report. The summary is based on speaking with people who used the service, the staff supporting them, our observations and from looking at records.

Is the service safe?

We saw staff were respectful of people's privacy and dignity. They asked if it was OK to make drinks and begin meal preparations. They were sensitive to people's dignity when clothing needed to be changed. We saw they included people who used the service in all aspects of conversation and did not speak 'for' people.

The Registered Manager had a number of different measures in place to check that systems were safe and working effectively. This included audits on daily notes, support plans, risk assessments and medication administration.

We saw people who used the service were happy and comfortable with staff in their interaction with them. There was positive interaction, communication and good eye contact. We observed people related to staff in a relaxed and easy way.

Safeguarding policies and procedures were robust and staff understood their role in safeguarding the people they supported.

Recruitment practice was safe and thorough. Policies and procedures were in place to ensure any unsafe practice would be identified and people protected.

Is the service effective?

People who used the service were asked about their care and able to make decisions. We saw people who used the service were asked for their consent before care tasks were carried out. We saw people were consulted and their verbal consent was obtained for aspects of their care and daily routine.

People's needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with their individual support plan. Information in support plans showed that people who used the service or their relatives were involved in the development of them. Some people who used the service had signed their support plans and associated risk assessments to show they were in agreement with them.

There were written agreements in place regarding decision making and mental capacity. This showed people who used the service had clear plans in place regarding how they made decisions and who was involved in helping them.

Is the service caring?

People who used the service nodded, said yes and smiled when we asked them if they were happy with the service they received. It was clear from our observations that staff had a good rapport with people who used the service and knew them well.

A relative of someone who used the service said they were very satisfied with the care and support their family member received. They said, 'All the staff are very caring and kind, we are very pleased. '

Staff demonstrated a very good knowledge of people's care, support needs and routines. They could describe individual care needs provided for people who used the service. It was clear they knew people's needs well and genuinely cared for people and their welfare.

Is the service responsive?

Records we looked at showed people who used the service or their relatives knew how to complain or raise concerns if they had any.

People were supported to complete a range of activities that suited their needs. They were supported to be a part of their local community and to maintain and make new friends.

Is the service well led?

The Provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service people received.

All the feedback records we looked at showed people were happy with the service and any suggestions for change had been acted upon. The Provider took account of complaints and comments to improve the service. We looked at records of complaints made and saw these were responded to and investigated properly.

Staff said they felt the service was well managed and the Provider and Registered Manager were approachable. They said they had confidence in them and that any issues brought to their attention were always dealt with properly and thoroughly.