Head Office

Updated 3 November 2022

Positive Care Solutions Limited is a community-based organisation offering mental health care and psychosocial support to young people with complex needs, aged between 11 and 25, within supported tenancy accommodation commissioned by Local Authorities across northwest England. The interventions offered to the young people included social support, assistance with personal care if required, and a bespoke package of mental health support provided by healthcare professionals where needed.

At the time of our inspection the service was supporting young people in various geographical locations across northwest England and had an administrative base in Manchester, which was the provider’s only registered location (Head Office). The service was registered with CQC at this location on 3 January 2020 and the provider is registered to provide one regulated activity: Treatment of disease, disorder or injury. There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. This was the first inspection of this service since it was registered.

What people who use the service say

We spoke to five of the young people who were either currently using or had recently used the service and two parents of young people who had recently been discharged from the service. The young people told us that they felt well supported by staff and they were fully involved in their care. They said they felt safe and had not experienced any abuse or discrimination from staff. Young people described how staff were supporting them to do things they enjoyed and to work towards personal goals, for example in education or employment. Relatives also told us that they were happy with the service, although one person also raised some specific concerns about staffing pressures and a lack of professional boundaries having been an issue in the past. Several of the young people and their relatives said that the service was the most supportive they had ever experienced.

Updated 3 November 2022

This was the first time we had inspected and rated this service. We rated it as requires improvement overall because improvements were required in relation to the safe and well led key questions. However, we did find that the service was effective, caring and responsive.

We rated the service as requires improvement because:

• The provider did not have a restraint reduction programme in place which is a national requirement for all services using physical interventions in response to disturbed behaviour by people with a learning disability and/or autism.
• The provider’s systems for training staff and monitoring compliance in relation to mental health legislation such as the Mental Capacity Act and the Mental Health Act were not fully embedded.
• Records did not always show how all agencies involved with an individual’s care had been involved in their care planning where this would have been appropriate.
• Notifiable incidents had not always been shared with CQC in accordance with regulatory requirements.
• The provider’s governance systems had not highlighted the issues we identified in relation to the care records and the lack of adequate safeguards in relation to the use of physical interventions.

However:

• Staffing levels on each shift enabled staff to give each young person the time they needed as teams were not short-staffed.
• Staff developed holistic, recovery-oriented care plans informed by a comprehensive assessment of young people’s needs and in collaboration with young people using the service and, where appropriate, their families and carers.
• The provider evaluated the quality of care they provided and made improvements on an ongoing basis.
• The teams included or had access to the full range of specialists required to meet the needs of the young people using the service. Managers ensured that these staff received adequate supervision and appraisal.
• Staff treated young people using the service with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, and understood their individual needs. They actively involved young people using the service and, where appropriate, their families and carers in care decisions.
• The service was easy to access. The criteria for referral to the service did not exclude young people who would have benefitted from care and the service had no waiting list at the time of our inspection.

Updated 3 November 2022

See summary above for details.