You First Support Services CIC

You First Support Services CIC is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care in people's own homes. You First Support Services CIC is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care in people's own homes. We call this type of service a 'supported living' service. In a supported living service, people's accommodation is provided by separate housing providers or landlords, usually on a rental or lease arrangement. Occasionally, people own their own homes. This means people can choose an alternative support service provider if they wish.

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.

The service provided support to adults with learning disability, autistic spectrum disorder, sensory impairment and physical disability. Personal care was provided to people as they required it. The service also provided other forms of social care support that are not included within CQC's registration requirements for a supported living service. For example, in addition to personal care, staff helped people with their housekeeping, shopping, attending appointments and other independent living skills. At the time of the inspection the service provided personal care and support to three people living in their own homes.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

People were supported by staff who understood their needs and were committed to supporting them with dignity and respect. This was informed by staff’s knowledge about the individual people supported. Staff were confident new staff were afforded the opportunities to work safely and effectively. They told us there were strong support systems in place.

People were supported by staff who were committed to reducing the risk of infection including COVID-19. Some people could not accept the use of masks by staff in line with Department of Health and Social Care guidance to reduce the risk of transmission. We were reassured that plans were in place to reduce people’s anxieties about the use of masks.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good. (report published March 2020).

Why we inspected

This targeted inspection was prompted to seek assurances about the safety and care of people after concerns were raised about the safety of the staff induction and infection prevention and control measures.

CQC have introduced targeted inspections to follow up on specific concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection. This is because they do not assess all areas of a key question.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at continued risk of harm from these concerns. CQC will review of the findings of this investigation separately.

Please see the Safe section of this report.

Follow up: We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for You First Support Services CIC on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

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.

The service provided support to adults with learning disability, autistic spectrum disorder, sensory impairment and physical disability. Personal care was provided to people as they required it. The service also provided other forms of social care support that are not included within CQC's registration requirements for a supported living service. For example, in addition to personal care, staff helped people with their housekeeping, shopping, attending appointments and other independent living skills. At the time of the inspection the service provided personal care and support to two people living in their own homes.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

People’s care and support was planned in partnership with them and with those close to them. Staff used individual ways of involving people so that they felt consulted, empowered, listened to and valued. People's communication needs were identified within their care plans.

People’s views were central to how the service was run. They were involved in every aspect of the service, including in the recruitment and training of staff.

The service was responsive to people’s individual needs and preferences, which enabled people to live as full a life as possible. People had been supported to overcome prejudice, mistrust, fear or great anxiety to live as equal members of their community.

The provider’s vision and values made sure people were at the heart of the service. The service worked in partnership with other organisations to make sure they were following current practice and providing a high-quality service.

The service was very well managed. The management team were open, honest, knowledgeable and outward looking. There were effective systems to monitor the quality and safety of the service. There was a strong commitment to drive continuous improvement.

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.

People were safe with staff who supported them. The provider had policies and procedures in place designed to protect people from the risk of suffering harm and abuse. Safety assessments were in place which identified possible risks to people living in their own homes. Healthy risk taking was supported and encouraged to enable people to lead the lifestyle they chose.

People's needs were thoroughly assessed before the service started to support them, to ensure their needs could be met. Each new service was planned very carefully. People's needs were met by suitable numbers of staff. Staff were closely matched to the people they supported.

People were supported by staff who were trained to meet their individual needs. The service worked closely with people’s families and other professionals to improve the care and support they provided.

Staff asked people for their consent before supporting them. People were supported well by staff, who respected their choices and decisions. People were supported by staff who saw them as equals; staff respected and promoted people’s privacy, dignity and independence.

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

Rating at last inspection The last rating for this service was Good (Report published 15 September 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

You First Support Services CIC provides personal care and support for people with a learning disability living in the community. The care and support is provided for people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection they were providing support for 41 people, however only one person was receiving personal care. The level of personal care provided is minimal and much of the support the service provides is about living and socialising independently within society.

There was 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were protected from abuse because the provider had systems in place to ensure checks of new staffs characters and suitability to work with vulnerable adults were carried out. Staff had also received training in protecting vulnerable people from abuse.

People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff who had a clear knowledge and understanding of their personal needs, likes and dislikes. Staff had a very in-depth understanding of people’s needs and how they preferred to be supported both in their home and within the community. People’s staff teams were small and were picked with the person or a relative being involved meaning they could select the right type of person that would fit in with their likes, dislikes, hobbies and interests.

People were able to talk with senior staff in the office at any time as there was an open door policy and all staff in the office knew them well. People who received care and support from You First Support Services CIC indicated they were happy with the service provided. All the parents we spoke with said the registered manager and staff were open and approachable and cared about personal preferences and maintaining independence.

People’s care needs were recorded and reviewed regularly with senior staff and the person receiving the care. All support plans contained evidence to show they had been consulted about their care and they had agreed the content of their care plan. People were involved with deciding the information put into their support plans and one support plan had been edited by the person’s parent to be more reflective of their needs and aspirations. Support workers had comprehensive information and guidance in support plans to deliver consistent support the way people preferred. We found staff were motivated and committed to ensuring people received the agreed level of support.

Staff told us the training they received was good; one staff member said the training could be very specific to people’s needs if something was identified. The registered manager explained they had carried out a staff training survey to identify the type of training and development staff wanted. They said the plan was to provide, “An individual bespoke training and development plan that will be tracked via supervision.” One staff member explained that as a person’s needs had changed due to a parent not being present for a short length of time, the registered manager had ensured all staff supporting the person had received training for a specific need around maintaining their nutritional health.

We observed people were cared for and supported by staff members who were polite, compassionate and caring. They had a very relaxed and cheerful relationship with the support workers supporting them throughout the visit. Staff spoke passionately about the care and support they provided whilst maintaining confidentiality.

The registered manager had a clear philosophy for the service provided, which they explained was put together with staff and people using the service. “You First Support Services enthusiastically works to make a visible and measurable difference to the lives of people with learning disabilities through the provision of person centred, individualised, personalised support.” This philosophy was supported by staff who sought to ensure people achieved the best they could.

The service had a complaints policy and procedure that was included in people’s support plans. People said they were aware of the procedure and knew who they could talk with. People, parents and staff said they felt confident they could raise concerns with the registered manager and they would be dealt with appropriately.

There were systems in place to monitor the care provided and people’s views and opinions were sought on a daily basis. People were involved in staff recruitment. This meant the staff team could then be matched to the person on the basis of their personality and interests, as well as their knowledge and skills. Suggestions for change were listened to and actions taken to improve the service provided. All incidents and accidents were monitored, trends identified and learning shared with staff to put into practice.