Archived: Direct Support Professionals

Direct Support Professionals is a domiciliary care agency that provides care and support to people in their own homes. The service specialises in supporting people with mental health issues and learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection 11 people were receiving a care and support service with an age range of 20 to 75 years.

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.

The experiences of people were positive. People and relatives told us they felt safe using the service, that staff were kind and the care they received was good. One person told us “I feel safe using the service, because the staff are nice and supportive. A relative told us “Yes, I feel my relative is in safe hands. A very safe service”.

There were good systems and processes in place to keep people safe. Assessments of risk had been undertaken and there were clear instructions for staff on what action to take in order to mitigate them. Staff knew how to recognise the potential signs of abuse and what action to take to keep people safe. One member of staff told us “I would make sure the person is safe and report to the office straight away. We have detailed training on safeguarding”. The registered manager made sure there was enough staff at all times to meet people’s needs. When the employed new staff at the service they followed safe recruitment practices.

The provider had arrangements in place for the safe administration of medicines. People were supported to take their medicines by staff that had been trained and were assessed as being competent. People were supported to maintain good health and had assistance to access health care services when needed.

The service considered people’s capacity using the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) as guidance. People’s capacity to make decisions had been assessed. Staff observed the key principles in their day to day work checking with people that they were happy for them to undertake care tasks before they proceeded.

Staff felt fully supported by the registered manager to undertake their roles. They were given training updates, supervision and development opportunities. For example, staff were offered to undertake additional training and development courses to increase their understanding of the needs of people using the service. One member of staff told us “We have lots of good training and can also work on a diploma in health and social care. We also get updates yearly”.

People and relatives told us that staff were kind and caring. Comments included “Staff are very nice and helpful” and “Yes they are caring and nice to me”. Relative’s comments included “They are good caring staff, who are kind and considerate” and “Everyone is very caring and helpful”.

People and relatives confirmed staff respected their privacy and dignity. Staff had a firm understanding of respecting people within their own home and providing them with choice and control. People were supported where required at mealtimes to access food and drink of their choice.

The registered manager monitored the quality of the service by the use of regular checks and internal quality audits to drive improvements. Feedback was sought by the registered manager through surveys which were sent to people, relatives and staff. Survey results were positive and any issues identified acted upon. People and relatives we spoke with were aware of how to make a complaint and felt they would have no problem raising any issues. One person told us “I am happy with everything, no concerns, nothing. If I did I would say”.

People and relatives said they were happy with the management of the service. One person told us “I have met the manager and speak to them. They are very nice too”. A relative told us “Approachable manager and office staff, who are lovely”.

Staff were supported with regular training booked to deliver appropriate care and support.

Direct Support Professionals provides care to approximately nineteen people in their own homes. On the day of our inspection we were told the registered manger was on annual leave. We were told that the operations manager was overseeing the service.

We found the agency to be appropriately managed by the registered provider so that people could rely upon receiving the service they needed. We spoke with three people who used this agency's services. Each person confirmed that they had received a reliable service from support workers who knew their job, were friendly, and consistently provided the support that had been agreed with them.

As part of our inspection we spoke with the operations manager and four members of staff. We visited two people in their home and spoke with one person who used the service at the registered office. We also looked at records and information from surveys carried out with people.

One person we spoke with commented 'they are part of the family', another person told us 'I have no problems, they have really helped me". Staff were only employed following a structured recruitment and interview process and relevant checks were carried out prior to them starting work.

We found people had personalised care plans and risk assessments. We found for every identified risk there was a plan in place to address the risk. We saw people had daily preference lists that were used to meet their preferences.

We reviewed the care records for four people who used the service. We also spoke with staff about the new care records. We found that people's care records reflected their up to date needs and risks associated with people's care had been assessed and planned for. People's care had been planned and delivered in line with their individual needs and preferences.

We found that people were treated with respect and dignity. People and their relatives said they felt included in their care and the staff discussed any changes with them. People told us they were enabled to be independent and engage in community activities

People' told us their needs were supported by staff. People told us they were included in making decisions about their care and felt that staff understood their needs. However, we found that people's records were not always updated to reflect changes and robust risk assessments were not in place.

People were protected from the risk of abuse and neglect. Staff had received appropriate training to identify and report safeguarding concerns. The provider responded appropriately to incidents, complaints and safeguarding issues. People told us they felt safe when receiving support from Direct Support Professionals.

We found that staff had received appropriate training and support in their roles. New staff received a full induction training based on the common induction standards. Staff training was regularly refreshed and staff received regular supervision.

We found that records were kept securely and were easy for staff to access when needed.