Care Advocates LTD Head Office

Updated 17 May 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

This inspection was completed by 3 inspectors.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager was in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 2 working days’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure a senior person would be available to support the inspection. We also needed to obtain consent from people using the service to visit their home.

The inspection activity started on 21 April 2023 by visiting 1 supported living service.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we had received about the service since they registered with us, including any statutory notifications received. The provider completed a 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. We used all of this information to plan our inspection

During the inspection

We spoke with 2 people using the service about their experiences of the care provided and observed interactions between staff and people. We spoke with the registered manager, the operations manager, a team leader and the HR and compliance manager. We reviewed a range of records including care and staff records and records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 17 May 2023

About the service

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Care Advocates LTD - Head Office is a care service providing personal care to people in supported living services across London. At the time of the inspection 3 people were receiving personal care in 2 services. 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

Right Support: Model of Care and setting that maximises people’s choice, control and independence

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive ways possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People received the right support in relation to their medicines and the provider had good oversight of this. People were involved in planning their care and received care how they preferred, such as personal care and their choice of meals. People were supported to be as independent as they wanted to be and to set goals to improve their independent living skills.

Right Care: Care is person-centred and promotes people’s dignity, privacy and human rights

People received the right support in relation to risks, such as those relating to a learning disability and/ or autism. There were enough staff to support people safely. The provider checked staff were suitable to work with people through recruitment checks. Staff received training in infection control practices, including the safe use of personal protective equipment (PPE). People were treated with dignity and respect and were given the privacy they needed. People were encouraged to raise any concerns or complaints, and these were responded to appropriately.

Right Culture: The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives.

The provider understood their requirement to notify CQC of significant events as required by law. The registered manager and staff understood their roles and responsibilities. The registered manager engaged and consulted well with people using the service, relatives and staff. Staff were well supported by the provider through induction, training, supervision, and meetings. People were supported to live healthy lives.

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 5 March 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted because of the length of time since the service registered with us.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.