Archived: Step One

St Loye’s Care and Support provides an enabling service to people with a range of support needs to help them continue their lives with dignity and independence and be participating members of their own communities. At the time of this inspection there were two people whose support included assistance with their personal care needs. Our inspection mainly focussed on these two people, although we also met and heard about other people receiving the service who did not require personal care. Most people received support during weekdays only, although the service was able to support people overnight or at weekends on a short term basis, for example for holidays or short breaks.

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.

We met one person who received support with their personal care needs. We also met two people who received support without personal care who were willing to speak with us about the service they received. They told us they were entirely happy with the support they received. Comments included “I get on with all of them. They are never bossy. I give them ideas and we have a discussion about what I can do.” After the inspection a relative contacted us. They said “We are confident that (the person) is in a safe and cared for environment at St Loyes.”

Safe procedures had been followed when recruiting new staff. Checks and references had been carried out before new staff began working with people. New staff were recruited with skills and experience relevant to the people they would be supporting. People who used the service received support from a small team of staff they had chosen, and who they knew and trusted.

People received a reliable service. People told us they knew who would be supporting them each day, and they had agreed the times when staff would arrive and finish. They were confident staff would arrive at the agreed time. Any changes to the planned programme of support visits were discussed and agreed with the person.

Staff were kind, cheerful and understanding of each person’s individual needs. People were treated with dignity and respect. Staff had an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act. They understood the importance of encouraging and supporting people to be assertive and make their own decisions about all aspects of their lives.

Each person had been involved and consulted in drawing up and agreeing a plan of their support needs. The service used a computerised system of care planning that allowed each person and their staff team to access their care plan and details of their support needs remotely through the provider’s secure internet system. The care plans explained each person’s goals, and also included their chosen activities each week. Staff were given detailed information on how the person wanted to be supported to reach their goals. Progress was evidenced through daily reports and regular reviews of each person’s support.

Staff received training, supervision and guidance which meant they had the knowledge and skills to meet each person’s support needs. New staff received thorough induction training before they began working with people. All staff received regular ongoing training on topics relevant to the needs of the people they supported.

The service supported people to learn new skills and achieve their goals. They worked with each person to agree a plan, and from this they helped the person to find local facilities such as work opportunities, educational courses, clubs, groups, libraries and other resources in the local community. Staff supported people to attend or participate in the activities they had chosen. During our inspection one person attended college, and other people went out on various activities such as swimming, shopping, and visits to the library, supported by a member of their chosen staff team.

The provider had a range of monitoring systems in place to ensure the service ran smoothly and to identify where improvements were needed. People were encouraged to speak out and raise concerns, complaints or suggestions in a variety of ways including questionnaires and forums.

At the time of this inspection the service did not support people with their medicines. However, all staff had received training on safe administration of medicines and policies and procedures were in place if needed at any time in the future.