IAS 65 Chorley Road in Swinton, Manchester is operated by Imagine, Act and Succeed (IAS). IAS is a registered charity that supports people with learning disabilities in Greater Manchester to live an ordinary life - in the community, at home, or with family.
CQC inspected the service in May 2015 using our new methodology. The inspection was carried out by an Adult Social Care Inspector and an Expert by Experience.
At the time of our inspection there were 86 people living in the Trafford and Salford area who used the service, of whom 18 received personal care.
During the inspection, we spent time at the office and looked at various documentation including care plans and staff personnel files. We also visited five people who used the service in their own homes, to ask them about the quality of care that they received.
What we found – outstanding care, dedicated staff
The inspection team found many examples of good and outstanding care delivered by a dedicated team of staff.
People receiving care were overwhelmingly positive about the service provided.
Staff had a sound understanding of their role and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding incidents, and medicines were managed safely.
Care was planned and delivered in order to effectively meet people’s needs, and people and their families were involved in all decisions about their care.
Staff had access to regular training and they were supported by regular supervision sessions and appraisals.
There was a strong leadership team that promoted an open culture and a person centred approach, and the service worked very closely with other professionals to ensure people were fully supported.
A parent of a gentleman supported by IAS told us about their experience of the inspection, which involved being interviewed:
"I was interviewed along with my son in my son’s home. The inspector had an extremely professional approach to his work and we welcomed the opportunity to be interviewed."
"The questions were well thought out and were very specific with regards to what he was looking for."
"He was very interested in my opinions and experience with the care company and wanted real examples to illustrate my answers."
"He was very thorough in establishing if my son was treated with dignity, respect and compassion and was extremely keen to know how any problems or issues were dealt with by staff and management”.
A team leader at the service also told us about their experience of the inspection:
"It was a good experience and I felt I was asked very meaningful questions about my role and how I am accountable."
"I was asked to explain how I as a leader ensure that the staff I have responsibility for feel valued."
"I was also asked if I felt valued and supported. On previous inspections I have had to show mainly facts and figures but this time there was a real focus on the importance of good leadership and how people benefit from this."
Our Judgement
The overall rating for the service was judged to be Good, with leadership being rated as Outstanding.
Mark Bergmanski, CQC Inspector, said, "It was a real privilege to inspect this service and to see the how people were being supported to live independent lives by enthusiastic and dedicated staff.
“Staff were committed to the people they worked with and were constantly looking for ways to improve the service they provided”
Jill Pilkington, Head of Operations at IAS, shared her experience of the CQC inspection with us:
The Provider Information Return (PIR)
Completing our Provider Information Return (PIR) in advance of the inspection helped us to identify the things that we feel we do well and to plan the areas that we needed to develop/focus on.
The time in between the completion of the questionnaire and the inspection was good as we were able to show the inspector the areas the PIR had helped us identify and what we had been working on to improve/develop our services in these areas.
We then shared this document with staff teams throughout our network so they also had ownership and were part of helping us evidence what we do well and how we celebrate this and to look collectively at the areas we needed to develop.
Staff welcomed this and they told us they felt included, recognised and valued for the things that were going really well. Not only by us as their employer but by CQC.
The Five Key Questions
The five areas of focus; Is the service safe, is the service effective, is the service caring, is the service responsive, is the service well led gave the whole inspection experience a more person centred feel / approach.
The Focus of the Inspection
Our inspection took place on 5 May 2015. The inspector started his inspection at the office explaining how the whole inspection would be carried out and then looked at policies, documents, staff files etc but the main focus of the inspection was the significant amount of time spent with people supported, staff, family members, local authority professionals and getting direct feedback from them about their experience with IAS.
This was a much more meaningful process for all involved and people have told us the focus of the inspector was about how people feel, what their experience of IAS was and do people have meaningful, purposeful lives.
Sharing with the Inspector
We were then given an opportunity to share with the inspector all the creative and innovative work we were currently doing as an organisation with regards to enhancing people’s lives and this was really helpful with regards to planning our focus areas for the following 6 – 12 months.
The report following the inspection contained many direct quotes from people that the inspector had spoken to and some people who have read this have told us it gives a really powerful message.
Mark concluded: "I was really impressed with how people were actively involved in staff recruitment as well as many of the progressive ideas for taking the service forward."
"Leadership was particularly strong. The service had a clear vision shared by all and staff were proud to work with the service.”
This was a much more meaningful process for all involved and people have told us the focus of the inspector was about how people feel.
Jill Pilkington, Head of Operations, IAS