Archived: Future Home Care Ltd Kent

Updated 8 June 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection team consisted of one inspector, an assistant inspector and an expert by experience (ExE) who made telephone calls to relatives of people receiving support. An ExE is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service, learning disabilities and complex support needs.

Service and service type: Future Home Care Ltd Kent is a supported living service which provides personal care and support for adults with learning and physical disabilities, and people with mental health needs.

Not everyone using Future Home Care Ltd Kent receives a regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

At the time of our inspection the service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. Recruitment was underway for a new manager and interim managers were supporting the area. This means that only the provider was legally responsible for how the service was run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

We gave the service 4 days’ notice of the inspection site visit because consent needed to be sought for telephone calls and home visits.

Inspection site visit activity started on 24 April 2019 and ended on 1 May 2019. We visited the office location on 24 April and 1 May 2019 to see the management team and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures. On the 24 April we visited two people living in a shared house. On the 1 May we visited a further three people living in a shared house. We interviewed three support staff and a project manager over the telephone on 1 May 2019. We made telephone calls to relatives whose loved ones used the service on 24 and 25 April 2019.

What we did:

Before the inspection we reviewed the information, we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as abuse. We used this information to plan our inspection. We did not request a provider information return (PIR), this is a form sent to CQC annually to give key information about what the service does well and the improvements they plan to make; instead we gathered this information during the inspection.

During inspection we looked at the following:

People were not able to verbally express their experiences of living at each service we visited; instead some people used signs and gestures. We observed staff interactions with people and observed care and support in communal areas.

We spoke with three people’s relatives and received feedback from a health care professional. We spoke with six members of support staff, two service managers, the two interim managers and the regional director.

We viewed the care records for four people which included, support plans, risk assessments, medicine records and records of accident and incidents. We looked at audits and quality assurance reports, three staff recruitment files and staff training records.

Updated 8 June 2019

About the service: Future Home Care Ltd Kent is a supported living service which provides personal care and support for adults with learning and physical disabilities, and people with mental health needs. People needed support with day-to-day tasks such as, cooking, shopping, washing and dressing and support to maintain their health and well-being. Some people had complex and additional support needs such as, dual sensory loss and diabetes. At the time of the inspection 47 people were receiving personal care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects the service being received by people provided with personal care, where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them

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

People’s experience of using this service:

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support in the following ways, the promotion of choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent. People were engaging in the local community, for example using their local community to utilise ordinary community resources, shops, access leisure activities and to access day services and recreational activities to ensure they had a good day.

Staff were responsive and committed to ensuring people received high quality care that met their needs. Staff promoted people’s self-worth and well-being; enabling people to achieve their goals and aspirations.

People were at the centre of their care and support, taking the lead regardless of their level of care and support needs. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People were involved in the recruitment of their staff team; through staff matching tools and observations of interactions between people and potential staff. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and staff were recruited safely. People’s knowledge about keeping safe was promoted and staff understood the action to take if they had any suspicions of abuse.

The service provided effective and safe support to people living with a learning disability and or autism. People were provided with good support to communicate, staff knew people well and understood their communication needs. Innovative ways were used to enable people to communicate their wishes such as, the use of sensory items. People were supported to feedback on their experiences and contribute to planning their own support in ways which were suitable for their communication needs. For example, through using pictures, stories and gestures.

People were supported to manage their emotions and had positive behaviour support strategies in place. People were supported to maintain relationships with people that mattered. Staff supported people to understand how to keep safe when in a relationship.

People were involved in food shopping, planning their menu and where possible the preparation of food and cooking. People were encouraged and supported to be as independent as possible. People were supported to access routine and specialist healthcare appointments when they needed to.

The senior managers promoted an open culture and was a visible presence in the services, staff felt supported by the senior managers and their line managers, they felt listened to and valued. Staff were well trained and received consistent support and guidance. Staff worked in collaboration with health care professionals to promote people’s health, nutrition and hydration.

People, staff and relatives’ feedback was actively sought and acted on. There was a commitment to the continuous development of each service. Staff were proud to work for the organisation and strived to enhance people’s lives and outcomes.

The service met the characteristics of Good. For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection:

The service was rated Good at the last inspection on 28 July and 3 August 2016 (the report was published on 13 October 2016).

Why we inspected:

This inspection was a scheduled inspection based on previous rating.

Follow up:

We will visit the service again in the future to check if there are changes to the quality of the service.

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