Medstar Care & Support Ltd

Updated 5 November 2022

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

This inspection was carried out by one inspector and one Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The Expert by Experience supported this inspection by speaking to relatives to gain their feedback about the service.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in one ‘supported living’ setting, 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. The service is also a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

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 48 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 31 May 2022 and ended on 13 June 2022. We visited the location’s office/service on 31 May 2022 and visited people in their own homes on 13 June 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about 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 visited one supported living scheme and one person in their own home. Prior to visiting, the registered manager sought the consent of people to allow us to visit. We spoke with five people, the registered manager, the area manager and two staff. We looked at four people’s care and support plans, risk assessments and medicines. Four staff files including recruitment, induction, supervision and appraisal, numerus auditing processes and other documents relating to the running of the service. We observed interactions between people and staff to get an understanding of their experience of the care they received. We further spoke with eight relatives to gain their feedback about the care and support people received and four staff.

Updated 5 November 2022

About the service

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.

Medstar Care & Support Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes and flats. The service also had a supported living location that was able to support four people in the community. The supported living location was a detached house in a residential area. People had access to individual washing facilities and a well-groomed, private back garden. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting 11 people.

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:

People were treated as partners in their care and staff supported people to be engaged in planning what their care meant to them. 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. We observed kind and caring interactions between people and staff. People were comfortable telling staff what they needed. People were encouraged to be independent around activities of daily living such as preparing their meals, clothing and activities. People’s communication needs were documented, and guidance given to staff to ensure they were able to work effectively with people.

Right Care:

People’s care was person centred and tailored to them. People told us their experience of their care was positive. People were encouraged to take part in activities that were meaningful to them and improved their wellbeing. People received a continuity of care and had the same staff working with them. This allowed positive working relationships to be built which meant people’s needs were fully understood.

Right Culture:

There was an open, inclusive and empowering culture at the service which promoted positive outcomes for people. The registered manager and staff were passionate and committed to working with people and the ethos of the service to put people first was clearly demonstrated throughout the inspection. There were numerous auditing systems to monitor the quality of care and make improvements where necessary.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 10 June 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

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