Archived: Autism Care (North West) Limited

Updated 14 September 2017

We carried out this comprehensive inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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.

This inspection visit took place on 23 August 2017 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of an adult social care inspector and an Inspection Manager.

Prior to our inspection we reviewed all the information we held about the service. This included notifications the registered provider had sent us. We also reviewed information provided by the local authority. This enabled us to plan our inspection effectively.

We visited two of the six supported tenancies and observed staff interactions with people in their care. We spoke with a range of people about Autism Care (North West). They included six people who used the serviced, the registered manager and five staff members.

To gather information, we looked at a variety of records. This included care plan files relating to seven people who lived at the home. We also looked at medicine administration records relating to people who received support from staff to administer their medicines.

We viewed recruitment files belonging to three staff members and other documentation which was relevant to the management of the service. This included training records, meeting minutes, survey results, improvement action plans and quality assurance records.

Updated 14 September 2017

The inspection at Autism Care (North West) Limited took place on 23 August 2017 and was unannounced.

Autism Care (North West) Limited is part of the Lifeways group. Autism Care (North West) Limited currently has six supported tenancies in the North West, supporting individuals with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder within the community. At the time of inspection there were 19 people using the service. Each supported tenancy is managed on a day-to-day basis by a support team leader, who are supported by the 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.

At the last inspection in August 2016 we found breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 in respect of person centred care, safe care and treatment, need for consent and staffing. We also made recommendations about following best practice guidance for medications, updating care plans and ensuring robust audits are in place to improve the quality of the service. The service was rated overall as ‘Requires improvement’ and remained in 'special measures' as the key question ‘Safe’ was rated as 'Inadequate'.

During this inspection on 23 August 2017, we found the provider had made a number of improvements. They worked transparently and collaboratively with local authorities, staff, people who used the service and relatives as part of their improvement requirements. We found the provider had made positive changes and the service was now meeting legal requirements.

Staff knew people they supported and provided a personalised service. Care plans were organised and had identified the care and support people required. Care records were informative about support people had received.

Staff had been recruited safely, received on-going training relevant to their role and were supported by the registered manager. They had the skills, knowledge and experience required to support people in their care. There was less reliance on agency staff, the service was fully staffed and there were appropriate numbers of suitably qualified staff on duty to meet people’s needs.

Systems were in place to reduce people being at risk of harm and potential abuse. Staff had received up to date safeguarding training and understood the provider's safeguarding adult’s procedures.

Risk assessments had been developed to minimise the potential risk of harm to people during the delivery of their support. These had been kept under review and were relevant to the care provided.

We found medication procedures at the service were safe. Staff responsible for the administration of medicines had received training to ensure they had the competency and skills required. Medicines were safely kept with appropriate arrangements for storing in place.

The provider had improved how they obtained consent to care and worked within the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). 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 supported this practice

Records showed people were assessed to identify the risks associated with poor nutrition and hydration. Where risks had been identified, staff had made appropriate referrals to health care professionals.

We observed staff providing support to people throughout our inspection visit. We saw they were kind and patient and showed affection towards people in their care. Staff were seen to maintain people's dignity.

The registered manager and staff told us they fully involved people and their families in their care planning. People were encouraged to raise any concerns or complaints. The service had a complaints procedure.

The registered manager used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included regular audits and service user and relative feedback to seek their views about the service provided.

The registered manager kept up to date with current good practice guidelines by attending regional meetings (organised by Lifeways) at which they shared learning and discussed new developments in care. We found the registered manager receptive to feedback and keen to improve the service. The registered manager worked with us in a positive manner and provided all the information we requested.