Archived: Making Space Domiciliary Care & Outreach Service

Updated 24 August 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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 was an announced comprehensive inspection completed on 5 July 2017 by one inspector. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service we needed to be sure that someone would be in.

We asked the local authority if they had any information to share with us about the services provided at the home. The local authorities are responsible for monitoring the quality and funding for people who use the service.

We looked at the information we held about the service and the provider. We looked at statutory notifications that the provider had sent us. Statutory notifications are reports that the provider is required by law to send to us, to inform us about incidents that have happened at the service, such as an accident or a serious injury.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We spoke with five people, and seven relatives. We spoke with 10 staff, the registered manager and the area manager. We also spoke the quality performance officer who was responsible for monitoring the service during the changes in commissioning arrangements.

We looked at ten records about people’s care, including their medicine records, and one staff file. In addition, we looked how complaints processes were promoted and managed and compliments received. We also looked at information about how the registered manager monitored the quality of the service provided and the actions they took to develop the service. These included quality surveys completed by people and their relatives and audits completed by the management team and the provider.

Updated 24 August 2017

We undertook an announced inspection on 5 July 2017.

We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice of our intention to undertake an inspection. This was because the organisation provides a domiciliary care service to people in their homes; we needed to be sure that someone would be available at the office. Making Space Domiciliary Care & Outreach Service provides care and support to people who reside in supported tenancies or within their own homes and assist and encourage people to gain confidence in respect of their daily living skills. At the time of our inspection 10 people were receiving personal care in supported living services and 61 people received support with personal care from the domiciliary care service.

At the last inspection in December 2014, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered providers and registered managers 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 continued to receive care in ways which helped them to remain as safe as possible. Staff understood the risks to people’s safety and were able to respond to people's needs. Staff we spoke with recognised the different types of abuse. There were systems in place to guide staff in reporting any concerns. There were enough staff available to ensure people’s needs were met. People were supported to receive their medicines by trained staff who knew the risks associated with them.

The care people received continued to be effective. Staff received training which matched the needs of people they supported. People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice. Staff ensured people agreed to the support offered before assisting them. People were supported to eat and drink well when part of their identified needs. They were supported to stay well and access to health care services when they needed to.

People had built caring relationships with staff and were encouraged to make their own choices and maintain their independence. People were treated with dignity and staff were respectful to people’s wishes. People and their relatives said staff and management team were caring and kind.

People and their relatives’ views and suggestions were listened to. People’s care plans reflected their preferences and people told us the service adapted to meet their needs. Systems were in place to promote and manage complaints. The registered manager was proactive in contacting people and their relatives during times of change to ensure the service responses were tailored to people’s needs.

Staff were involved in meetings, to share their views and concerns about the quality of the service. People and staff said the management team were accessible and would take action when needed.

People, their relatives and staff were encouraged to make any suggestions to improve the care provided and develop the service further. Regular checks were in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service and action taken to drive through improvements for the benefit of people who were supported by the service.