Day Opportunities DCA

Updated 19 March 2020

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in three ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

The service had a manager registered with CQC. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced.

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small, and people are often out; we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us. Also, we needed to be sure the registered manager would be available to support the inspection. Inspection activity started with a visit to the office on 4 February 2020 and ended on 5 February 2020.

What we did before the inspection

We looked at the information we held about the service. This information included statutory notifications 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 local commissioners and healthcare professionals for their views about the service.

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people who used the service. We visited the office and spoke with the provider and the registered manager. We visited three houses and met with five people being supported in their own homes. We also spoke with two team leaders and five support workers. We spoke with three relatives on the telephone.

We looked at the care plans and associated records for four people who used the service. We reviewed records relating to how the service was managed; these included staff training and recruitment records, medication records, induction and supervision records, quality assurance systems, policies and procedures and responses from the recent customer satisfaction survey. We also looked at the outcome from the most recent commissioner’s report.

After the inspection

We received positive feedback from three healthcare professionals.

Updated 19 March 2020

About the service

4 Shanter Close provides personal care and support to people living in the community. The service specialised in providing flexible support to people with learning disabilities and autism. Support was provided to ten people who were living in three houses in the town of Halifax.

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

Management and staff had an extremely positive impact on people's lives and went above and beyond to understand and respond to people's needs and preferences. They supported people's ability to express themselves and included their wishes and aspirations in support planning and activities. People were actively involved in the local community and had access to a broad range of meaningful activities which improved their quality of life, developed their self-confidence and their self-esteem.

The service was well led by a committed and skilled management team who led by example. They used effective audits to provide high-quality, person-centred care. People spoke highly about the service provided and the impact it had on people. Good partnership working had improved people’s independence, safety and wellbeing. Staff were observed to be kind, patient and caring and had developed good relationships and friendships with people. People were supported respectfully in ways that upheld their dignity. People were supported to express their views and provided with a person-centred service.

People were safe and protected from the risk of abuse and avoidable harm and people were comfortable and happy in the company of staff. Safeguarding adults’ procedures were in place and staff understood how to protect people from abuse. Recruitment processes ensured new staff were suitable. There were enough staff to meet people's needs flexibly and to ensure their safety. People received their medicines when they needed them from staff who had been trained and had their competency checked. Detailed risk assessments included positive risk taking to optimise people's opportunities to engage in activities.

People's needs were thoroughly assessed in line with good practice guidance which ensured positive outcomes and a good quality of life. People's health needs were identified and closely monitored. People were supported with eating and drinking, and specialists were involved when required for people who were nutritionally at risk. Induction training was thorough and ongoing training and support for staff was kept up to date.

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. The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 14 June 2019 and this is the first inspection.

The last rating for this service was good (published 12 December 2016). Since this rating was awarded the registered provider has altered its legal entity. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.

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.