Steps Support

Updated 12 November 2021

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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

One inspector carried out this inspection.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in their own homes.

The service had two managers registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the provider 24 hours' notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager(s) would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we held about the service, including the notifications we had received from the provider. Notifications are changes, events or incidents the provider is legally obliged to send us within required timescales. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We sought feedback from the local authority and a range of professionals who work with the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people's care records. We spoke with both registered managers.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We contacted 11 staff and seven health and social care professionals. We reviewed training information, policies, surveys, newsletters, and quality assurance records.

Updated 12 November 2021

About the service

Steps Support is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people living in their own homes. The service supports a range of people, including people who have a learning disability or autism, and people with physical disabilities. At the time of our inspection the service supported three people with personal care. 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.

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

People were safeguarded from the risks of abuse by staff who understood their safeguarding responsibilities and knew how to raise concerns. Safeguarding policies and procedures were in place.

COVID-19 protocols and risk assessments were in place and staff received appropriate training and ample PPE. Where risk assessments needed to be more person-centred the provider acted promptly.

We have made a recommendation about risk assessments.

People’s relatives spoke highly of staff, as did external professionals who had worked with them.

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.

This service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture.

Right support:

• The care and support in place maximised people’s choice, control and independence.

Right care:

• Support was person-centred support, appropriate and inclusive.

Right culture:

• The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff supported people to lead inclusive and empowered lives.

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.

Relatives told us staff were caring, kind, and often went out of their way to ensure people felt safe and supported. People and their relatives were fully involved in the care planning and review process.

There was a positive culture at the service; staff supported each other when there were unexpected absences and the provider had not had to use agency staff. Staff felt involved in the running of the service and their opinions valued.

There were systems in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality of care being provided. Where these could be improved to focus more on ensuring good practice was in place, the registered managers were responsive to feedback.

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 9 August 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on our approach to inspecting newly registered services.

Follow up

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