Archived: Support Plus

Updated 21 June 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This unannounced inspection took place on 24 May 2017 and one inspector visited the service. Before the inspection we looked at the information we held about the service including information from any notifications. A notification is information about important events that the provider is required to send us by law. We also asked the local authority for their views about the service and used this information to help inform our inspection.

As part of our inspection we looked at the care records of five people using the service, staff training, supervision and recruitment records and records relating to the management of the service. We spoke with the provider’s chief executive, the registered manager, office staff and two care staff. We also visited and spoke with two people using the service in their homes to gain their views about the service they received.

Updated 21 June 2017

This inspection took place on 24 May 2017 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours' notice of the inspection because we needed to be sure the manager and staff would be in the office.

Support Plus is a domiciliary care agency situated within the grounds of Bencurtis Park which provides sheltered housing accommodation for older people. Support Plus provides personal care and support to older people living in supported accommodation and who live with dementia, physical disability and or sensory impairment. At the time of our inspection there were 11 people using the service.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At our last comprehensive inspection of the service on 21 and 22 January 2016 we found a breach of legal requirements because people’s risk assessments were not detailed and did not always provide guidance for staff on how to manage and mitigate risks to people’s health and well-being.

At this inspection we found that the provider had made the required improvements relating to the breach of legal requirements.

There were appropriate safeguarding and whistle-blowing procedures in place and staff had an understanding of these procedures. Assessments were in place to support people where risks to their health and welfare had been identified. Appropriate recruitment checks took place before staff started work and there was enough staff to meet people’s needs.

The registered manager and staff had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and acted according to this legislation. Staff completed an induction when they started work and received training relevant to the needs of people using the service. Care plans detailed people’s nutritional and support needs where required. People had support to access health and social care professionals if required.

People were provided with appropriate information about the service. People said staff were kind and their privacy and dignity was maintained. People were consulted about their care and care plans were in place that provided information for staff on how to support people safely and appropriately. People were aware of the complaints procedure and we saw complaints were managed appropriately.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided to people. The provider took into account the views of people using the service through satisfaction surveys. The provider conducted unannounced spot checks to make sure people were supported in line with their care plans. There was an out of hours on call system in operation that ensured management support was always available to people using the service and staff when they needed it.