Archived: Core Assets Children's Services - Disability - Midlands

Updated 27 January 2016

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.

The inspection took place on 21 December 2015 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a homecare care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be in. The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

As part of the inspection we looked at information we held about the service provided at the home. This included statutory notifications. Statutory notifications include important events and occurrences which the provider is required to send us by law.

We spoke with two relatives by telephone. We spoke with one member of care staff, the registered manager and the provider. We also spoke with Worcestershire County Council’s Quality and Contract Team and Children’s Services.

We looked at three records about people’s care, complaint files, incident forms and safeguarding records. We also looked at quality audits that the registered manager and provider had competed. We checked people’s medicine administration records. We also looked at records and minutes of meetings with staff and people who lived at the home, and three staff recruitment files.

Updated 27 January 2016

The inspection took place on 21 December 2015 and was announced. Core Assets Children Services – Disability – Midlands provides homecare services to people with complex health and psychological needs. There were three people under the age of sixteen receiving a service at the time of our inspection. We had the opportunity to talk with two relatives as part of the inspection. We have therefore not used quotes within this report and the examples we have given are brief because we respect people’s right to confidentiality.

A registered manager was in post at the time of our inspection. 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 received care from staff in ways which promoted their safety. Staff knew how to protect people from harm and supported people to do the things that they enjoyed and to keep in touch with friends in a safe way. People, relatives and staff discussed the risks people faced and action was taken to protect people. Relatives and staff told us there were enough staff to care for people in a safe way. Some people liked the independence that looking after their own medicines gave them. Other people needed staff to help them with their medicines.

Staff had undertaken a wide range of training based on the needs of individual people so that they could support people well. Staff were supported through regular supervision, and told us that if they had any concerns for people’s well-being they were able to get advice from senior staff or the registered manager. People’s consent was appropriately obtained by staff and staff understood that people had the right to make their own decisions. Staff worked with other organisations to make sure that they were protecting people’s freedom and rights.

People’s health and nutritional needs were understood by staff. Staff knew how to support people if they required any specialist help and if they had any particular dietary needs. Staff supported people to obtain specialist help with their health so they remained well.

Staff found out about things that were important to the people they cared for, so they could provide support in the best way for people. People and relatives liked the staff who supported them. People and relatives were encouraged to tell staff how they wanted their care to be given. People’s privacy and dignity were respected and staff recognised when people’s independence increased. People were supported by staff to do the things that they enjoyed.

We saw that people’s care was personalised and individual ways of working with people had been agreed. Relatives told us they were encouraged to take part in care planning and reviews, so their family members would receive care in the best way for them. Relatives were confident that any concerns or complaints they may need to raise would be actioned by staff.

Relatives told us communication with the registered manager was open. Staff told us that they were supported well by the registered manager and provider, so that they were able to provide safe and compassionate care. People’s care and the quality of the service was regularly reviewed and checked by the registered manager and the provider so they could be sure people were receiving the right care.