Background to this inspection
Updated
17 August 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
The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors, an assistant inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The Expert by Experience made telephone calls to relatives.
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.
Registered Manager
This service is required to have a registered manager. 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 in post.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small, and we needed to be sure the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 11 July 2023 and ended on 24 July 2023. We visited the location’s office on 11 July 2023 and completed visits to people’s homes on the 11 & 17 July 2023.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We also contacted Healthwatch Sheffield. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We observed staff providing care and support to 7 people using the service in 4 different properties and spoke with 5 people’s relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager, regional operations director, regional operations manager, 3 team leaders and 5 support workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included 5 people’s care and medication records. We looked at 2 staff files in relation to recruitment, training, and supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We attempted contact with 7 health and social care professionals who have experience of the service and we received 4 responses.
We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager to validate evidence found.
Updated
17 August 2023
About the service
Newfield View Supported Living is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own homes. It provides a service to people who have a learning disability and/or autism. 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. At the time of our inspection, the service was providing personal care to 17 people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
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.
This provider was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.
Right Support:
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.
Management of medicines needed improvement and we have made a recommendation about this.
The provider had processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. Staff were knowledgeable about safeguarding and knew how to act on concerns. People and their relatives told us they felt that their relative was safe.
Risks associated with people’s care had been identified and assessments were in place to minimise risks occurring.
Quality audits were in place and completed regularly by the senior team.
Right Care:
Staff were knowledgeable about people’s needs, preferences and interests. Staff retention was high, and many staff had worked with people using the service for a number of years.
People received care and support from staff who knew them well and understood their needs and considered their preferences. Staff interacted positively with people and had a caring and respectful approach.
People could take part in activities and keep in touch with people who were important to them.
Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community.
Right Culture:
People were supported with care that was person-centred.
Quality assurance and monitoring systems helped drive improvements at the service.
There was a recruitment system to ensure appropriate staff were employed and there were enough staff to support people.
Staff told us should they have any concerns about poor practice they would feel confident to raise them and their concerns would be acted upon. One staff said, “I don’t have any concerns for the people who live in the house where I work, if I did, I know how to express them.”
Feedback was regularly sought from people, and relatives told us overall they felt involved in their relatives’ lives.
For more details, please see the full report for Newfield View Supported Living which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 17 February 2022 and this is the first inspection.
The last rating for the service under the previous provider was requires improvement, published 5 November 2019.
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about the service.
Recommendations
We have made a recommendation about the safe management of medicines.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.