We carried out a review of the data available to us about SENSE - Community Services (South East) on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about SENSE - Community Services (South East), you can give feedback on this service.
People’s experience of using this service:
People had a very good experience using this service. They were matched with an intervenor who spent individual time with them, supported them to enrich their life, trying new activities, learning new skills and choosing how they wanted to be supported.
Staff had developed good meaningful relationships with people they supported. They showed an exceptional level of understanding of people's needs and of working in a person-centred way. People using the service and their relatives gave very positive feedback about the intervenor service.
People were involved in planning their support and those people important to them, families and other professionals involved in their care, were consulted and updated regularly.
The service addressed risks to people’s safety in a considered way balancing safety with positive risk taking. Risks for each person were considered taking account of their needs and wishes and clear guidance was provided to staff on how to ensure people could do what they wanted to and keep safe. The service encouraged positive risk taking so that people could try new things.
Staff were trained in safeguarding adults and children and had a good understanding of how to recognise abuse and how to respond to it. The service took a proactive approach to ensuring staff kept their knowledge up to date.
People’s medicines were managed safely and the service had reduced the use of medicines to calm behaviour by working with a person in a person-centred way which in turn reduced their anxiety.
Staff were well trained and supported including specialised training for the role. The service regularly assessed staff competence. Staff showed exceptional skills and knowledge about supporting deafblind people.
There were detailed assessments and information to enable staff to provide an effective service based on the person's needs and preferences. The person was at the heart of the service and staff treated each person with respect.
Consent forms were on occasions signed by people not authorised to consent on a person's behalf. The registered manager agreed to immediately address this.
People were exceptionally involved in planning their support and those people important to them, families and other professionals involved in their care, were consulted and updated regularly.
Professional feedback was that the service is excellent and that some people have achieved skills beyond the expectations of other professionals involved with them.
There were two registered managers, one was registered whilst covering the registered manager who was on maternity leave. There was good leadership by both registered managers and effective quality monitoring systems in place to ensure continuous improvement.
Staff enjoyed their jobs and gave very positive feedback about the support and direction provided to them by both registered managers. The managers felt well supported by the provider.
The service met the characteristics of a good service in all areas. More information is in the full report.
Rating at last inspection: The rating at the last inspection was Good (report published in November 2016).
Why we inspected: This was a scheduled inspection based on previous rating.
Follow up: Going forward we will continue to monitor this service and plan to inspect in line with our re-inspection schedule for those services rated Good.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Sense - Community Services (South East) provides community and outreach Intervenor service, which supports children and adults who are dual-sensory impaired or sensory impaired with additional physical or learning disabilities. The service also includes providing some personal care support to people in their own homes. The Intervenor service provides one to one support to children and adults born with sight and hearing impairments, known as congenital deafblindness. The role of the Intervenor is to help the deafblind person to interact and communicate with the family and the outside world. The Intervenor service was provided in a combination of places including people’s homes, their local community and in an education setting. People receiving this service lived in a variety of settings, including with families, in an adult placement and in a residential home.
Sense - Community Services (South East) provides this service 52 weeks a year. The location of the service is at Touchbase South East day care service. The provider is Sense, a national charity organisation for people who are deafblind. The term 'deafblind' covers a wide range of people, some of whom may or may not be totally deaf and blind. At the time of the inspection, 15 people were being supported by the Sense - Community Services (South East).
The service had a registered manager in post. 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People using the service and their relatives told us they were very happy with the service and that staff were responsive to their health and care needs. They said staff communicated well and treated them with dignity and respect, and understood their likes, dislikes and preferences.
Staff demonstrated a good understanding of people’s needs and abilities, and gave examples of how they supported them. For example, staff used various communication methods such as British sign language, music, light and sports to encourage people to develop their communication skills and gain new experiences. Staff knew the service’s safeguarding procedures and explained how they would protect people from harm and abuse.
People’s care plans were detailed and person-centred. Risk assessments were individualised and gave information on safe management of the risks. Care plans and risk assessments were regularly updated and reviewed. There were clear records of care delivery. The service maintained robust medicines policy and procedures. Staff had a received training on medicines administration and felt confident administering medicines.
The service followed safe recruitment practices and carried out appropriate checks before staff started supporting people. There were sufficient numbers of staff to safely meet people’s needs. Relatives and the health care professional we spoke with told us staff were very well trained and had the right skills to support people with their individual needs.
Staff told us they were very well supported by the registered manager and enjoyed working with the service. Staff received regular supervision sessions. Staff told us they attended a comprehensive induction and received extensive relevant specialist training to support them with their role.
Relatives and the health care professional we spoke with told us the registered manager was approachable, and their concerns were listened to and addressed in a timely manner. The service had robust systems and procedures in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service delivery. There was evidence of regular monitoring checks of the service. The registered manager worked collaboratively with organisations and external agencies in improving people’s quality of life.
People's needs were assessed and care planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan. We reviewed care records for five people who used the service. We found that each person had a care plan and risk assessments which had been regularly reviewed.
The provider worked in co-operation with other professionals involved in the care of people. This was confirmed by care plans and notes written by Intervener staff. This helped facilitate communication between different professionals involved in the persons care and to ensure continuity of care.
The provider had the necessary recruitment and selection policies and procedures in place. There were systems in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received. The provider took account of complaints and comments to improve the service.
Staff were able to give us examples of how they treated people with dignity and respect such as ensuring doors were kept closed when assisting someone in the changing room during swimming sessions and respecting people's preferences, likes and dislikes.
There were systems in place to ensure that people were protected from abuse and that they received the care they needed, including safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures. Systems were in place to monitor and to make improvements to the quality of care and support provided by the agency.
Staff felt supported by the manager and received training relevant to their role as Intervenor. Records relating to people who use the service were stored securely.