8 March 2016
During a routine inspection
Care Your Way East Grinstead provides personal care and support to people who wish to retain their independence and continue living in their own home. Personal care and support is provided for older people and people with a physical disability. At the time of our inspection 48 people were receiving a care service.
The service had a registered manager. 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.
The provider had arrangements in place for the safe administration of medicines. People were supported to receive their medicine when they needed it. People were supported to maintain good health and supported to access health care services if required. However the recording of PRN medicines were not always consistent and information was not consistently recorded. We have therefore identified this as an area of practice that needs improvement.
The experiences of people were positive. People told us they felt safe, that staff were kind and the care they received was good. One person told us "Yes. It helps me feel safer having someone here and more confident. I feel safe with all of them actually”.
Assessments of risk had been undertaken and there were instructions for staff on what action to take in order to mitigate them. Staff knew how to recognise the potential signs of abuse and what action to take to keep people safe. The registered manager made sure there was enough staff at all times to meet people’s needs. When the provider employed new staff at the service they followed safe recruitment practices.
The service considered peoples capacity using the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) as guidance. People’s capacity to make decisions had been assessed. Staff observed the key principles in their day to day work checking with people that they were happy for them to undertake care tasks before they proceeded.
Staff felt fully supported by management to undertake their roles. They were given training updates, supervision and development opportunities. For example staff were offered to undertake additional training and development courses to increase their understanding of the needs of people using the service. One member of staff told us “I love the training. We are in a group with a company trainer and learn much more than we could through a computer. I refer back to the training material sometimes”.
People confirmed staff respected their privacy and dignity. Staff had a firm understanding of respecting people within their own home and providing them with choice and control.
People were supported at mealtimes to access food and drink of their choice and were supported to undertake activities away from their home. One relative told us "If my relative wants something to eat in the morning they will get it for her. Food is delivered and they will put it in the microwave for her”.
People and relatives said they were happy with the management of the service. People’s comments included "Happy, I would think so. They have always got a manager in the office. There is always a point of contact”. There were clear lines of accountability. The service had good leadership and direction from the registered manager. One member of staff told us “They respect the staff, they do listen, whether about work or anything outside that you need to discuss. The back-up is always there”.
The registered manager and operations director monitored the quality of the service by the use of regular checks and internal quality audits to drive improvements. Feedback was sought by the registered manager through surveys which were sent to people and their relatives. Survey results were mainly positive and any issues identified acted upon. People and relatives we spoke with were aware of how to make a complaint and felt they would have no problem raising any issues. The provider responded to complaints in a timely manner with details of any action taken.