Archived: Community Independence Service

Community independence Service (CIS) provides reablement and rehabilitation services for people in their own homes to promote their daily living skills and independence. It is an occupational therapy led service. At the time of the inspection 55 people used the service. 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. At the time of our inspection three people were receiving support with personal care.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

There was a highly positive culture at CIS with a strong ethos for quality care. The service was consistently well-led and positive feedback was received about the registered and acting manager. People were extremely grateful to have received support from CIS and staff were proud to work at the service. Professionals felt the service was a valuable resource in the local community.

Robust quality assurance processes were in place and there was a great emphasis on continual improvement. There were clear roles and responsibilities within the service which supported highly effective outcomes for people.

A comprehensive holistic assessment of people's needs meant their individualised goals were identified and support was aligned with these. Outcomes for people were often better than expected and people enjoyed an enhanced quality of life following the input of CIS.

The registered and acting manager recognised that the on-going development of staff skills, competence and knowledge was central to ensuring high-quality care. Staff spoke positively about their role and felt well supported to carry out their roles and responsibilities effectively, so people received care and support in-line with their needs and wishes.

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 expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. People received a service that was exceptionally personalised and supported people to make choices and develop their independence. We saw people had been supported to move into their own homes and enjoy a meaningful and fulfilled lifestyle. The service had an exceptionally person-centred culture and welcomed feedback.

Strong partnerships with other agencies and health professionals had been established. Staff who worked at CIS worked collaboratively with them to ensure people received highly effective joined up care.

People were supported to be safe. Staff supported people to take medicines safely. Staff were safely recruited, and turnover was low. Robust infection control procedures were in place and followed current national guidance. People were enabled to take positive risks which maximised control over their care and support.

The team were proactive in identifying and implementing creative ways to ensure people were supported to live as independently as possible. People were treated with kindness and compassion. People's right to privacy was respected by the staff who supported them, and their dignity was maintained. People were supported to express their views and be actively involved in making decisions about their care and support needs.

Staff were committed to delivering inclusive personalised care and support. Care records in place were person-centred and focused on progress people were making towards independence.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 10/10/2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on when the service registered with us.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.