Wisdom Support Services Ltd

Updated 16 May 2018

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.

Before the inspection we reviewed information we held about the provider, including the provider’s information return (PIR). This is a form submitted by the provider giving data and information about the service. We looked at statutory notifications that the provider had sent to CQC. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We also contacted the local authorities that commission services from the provider to gain their views about the service. We used this information to help inform our inspection planning.

This inspection took place on 20 April 2018 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be in. The inspection team comprised of one inspector who attended the location. They visited and spoke with one person using the service at their home. Not all of the people using the service were able to communicate their views to us verbally. We undertook general observations throughout our visit and spoke with family members to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. They also spoke with two relatives and one member of staff. They looked at two people’s care records, staff training and recruitment records and records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 16 May 2018

Wisdom Support Services Ltd is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. Not everyone using Wisdom Support Services Ltd receives the regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection the provider was providing personal care to two people.

This inspection took place on 20 April 2018. We gave the provider 2 days’ notice of the inspection as we needed to make sure the manager would be available. At our last inspection on 11 and 14 April 2016 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good. The service demonstrated they continued to meet the regulations and fundamental standards.

The service had 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.

Appropriate recruitment checks took place before staff started work. The service had safeguarding and whistle-blowing procedures in place and staff had a clear understanding of these procedures. There was enough staff available to meet people’s care and support needs. Risks to people had been assessed and reviewed regularly to ensure their needs were safely met. Medicines were managed appropriately and people were receiving their medicines as prescribed by health care professionals.

Staff completed an induction when they started work and they received training relevant to people’s needs. They had received training in infection control and food hygiene and they were aware of the steps to take to reduce the risk of the spread of infections. Assessments of people’s care and support needs were carried out before they started using the service. People’s care files included assessments relating to their dietary support needs. 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.

Staff treated people in a caring, respectful and dignified manner. People and their relatives had been consulted about their care and support needs. People could communicate their needs effectively and could understand information in the current written format provided. People and their relatives said they were confident their complaints would be listened to and acted on. Staff said they would support people according to their diverse needs. There were systems in place to provide people with end of life care and support if and when it was required.

The provider recognised the importance of monitoring the quality of the service provided to people. They took people’s views into account through telephone monitoring calls, spot checks and satisfaction surveys. Staff said they enjoyed working at the service and they received good support from the registered manager. There was an out of hours on call system in operation that ensured management support and advice was always available for staff when they needed it.