SummerCare Office

About the service

SummerCare Office is registered to provide personal care to people living in their own home or in supported living settings. The service provides personal care to people with a learning disability and autistic people. At the time of our inspection there were 14 people receiving a regulated activity.

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

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, Right care, Right culture. People told us they were happy with the support they received. A relative said, “[Person name] is really happy, they like where they live, and they go out all the time.”

Right Support:

Care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way which was intended to ensure people's safety and welfare. People were cared for safely by staff who had been recruited and employed after appropriate checks had been completed. There were systems in place to minimise the risk of infection and to learn lessons from accidents and incidents. Medication was dispensed by staff who had received training to do so and assessed as competent.

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.

Right Care:

Care was person-centred and promoted people’s dignity, privacy and human rights. The registered manager promoted learning and training with staff to develop their skills and provide good quality care. People were supported to access health professionals to maintain their health and well-being.

Right Culture:

The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensured people using services led confident, inclusive and empowered lives.

Care was focused on supporting people to remain independent. Staff supported people to engage in their local community. Care was personalised to people’s needs and staff reviewed and adapted support as people’s needs or wishes changed. The registered manager had systems in place to monitor the service and outcomes for people.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The rating at the last inspection was good (published 4 January 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

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

Summercare Head Office is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community and supported living houses. At the time of our inspection there were 70 people using the service.

The service had a registered manager. 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure people's safety and welfare. There were systems in place to minimise the risk of infection. People were cared for safely by staff who had been recruited and employed after appropriate checks had been completed. People’s needs were met by sufficient numbers of staff. People were supported to take their medication by trained staff.

People were safeguarded from the potential of harm and their freedoms protected. Staff were provided with training in Safeguarding Adults from abuse, Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

People had sufficient amounts to eat and drink to ensure that their dietary and nutritional needs were met. The service worked well with other professionals to ensure that people's health needs were met. People's care records showed that, where appropriate, support and guidance was sought from health care professionals.

Staff were well trained and attentive to people's needs. Staff were able to demonstrate that they knew people well. Staff treated people with dignity and respect.

People were provided with the opportunity to participate in activities which interested them at the service. These activities were diverse to meet people’s social needs. People knew how to make a complaint should they need to. When needed people were provided with the appropriate care and support at the end of their life.

The registered manager had a number of ways of gathering people’s views, staff held regular meetings with people and their relatives and used questionnaires to gain feedback. The registered manager carried out quality monitoring to help ensure the service was running effectively and to make continual improvements.

The service has a registered manager. 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Risk assessments had not been developed for all areas of identified risk. Care plans were not detailed and did not describe people’s preferences for care. Suitable arrangements were needed to ensure that staff received regular formal supervision and an annual appraisal of their overall performance. Although systems were in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of the service provided, further improvements were required as they had not highlighted the areas of concern we had identified.

Staff understood the risks and signs of potential abuse and the relevant safeguarding processes to follow. People were cared for safely by staff who had been recruited and employed after appropriate checks had been completed. Staff supported people with their medication as required.

Staff had received regular training and were knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities. They had the skills, knowledge and experience required to support people with their care. The service worked well with other professionals to ensure that people's health needs were met. Where appropriate, support and guidance were sought from health care professionals, including GPs. People were supported with their nutrition and hydration needs.

People told us staff were kind and caring. People were supported with activities which interested them. People and their representatives knew how to make a complaint; complaints had been resolved efficiently and quickly.

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People's comments about the service were generally positive. Comments included; "I've got some real good carer's," "They're very good the girls that come, but I'd like a bit more help from them. I have to clear up after them." When asked how staff spoke to them one person told us that staff speak to them, "in a nice way." Another told us the way staff spoke was, "not nasty."

People we spoke to face to face appeared to have a good relationship with staff and spoke about them in a very positive way. People told us that they felt safe with staff.

On the day of our inspection we found that issues were dealt with in a timely manner. Staff told us the provider tries to ensure for the supported living service that there is consistency with staff. We saw that information kept by on call managers ensures that where cover is required for domiciliary care services staff are allocated according to need and risk.

We spoke with four people who live within a supported living scheme. People told us that they were satisfied with the care and support which had been provided. We also spoke with two relatives of people who receive a service (supported living and homecare) and one person who currently receives personal care. Comments about the agency were noted to be variable. One person told us that they found the care and support provided for their member of family to be "excellent" and "second to none." One person spoken with told us that they had been "very dissatisfied" with the care and support provided for their relative.

Staff demonstrated a good understanding and awareness of how to respond and raise concerns if there was suspicion of abuse. People were cared for by staff that were supported to deliver care and treatment safely and to an appropriate standard.

There were arrangements in place to monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service.