Norfolk Affinity Care Services Ltd

Updated 18 June 2022

The inspection

We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.

Unlike our standard approach to assessing performance, we did not physically visit the office of the location. This is a new approach we have introduced to reviewing and assessing performance of some care at home providers. Instead of visiting the office location we use technology such as electronic file sharing and video or phone calls to engage with people using the service and staff.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager, who was also the provider, in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider would available to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 12 May 2022 and ended on 25 May 2022 when we carried out a feedback session.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we had received about the service. This included notifications the provider had sent us and also the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

This performance review and assessment was carried out without a visit to the location’s office. We used technology such as video calls to enable us to engage with people using the service and staff, and electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation. We spoke with two people who used the service and two relatives. We also spoke with the registered manager, one team leader and two care staff. We reviewed three care plans and three medication records and other records relating to the safety and quality of the service.

Updated 18 June 2022

About the service

Norfolk Affinity Care Services cares for people in their own homes. The service supports older people, those with physical or learning disabilities and autistic people. At the time of our inspection there were ten people using the service.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

The service met the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right support: People were supported to maintain or increase their independence and had their choices respected. Staff listened to people who used the service and encouraged them to take small steps to gradually increase their skills and independence. Care plans documented how staff should achieve this.

Right care: Care was person-centred and promoted people’s dignity, privacy and human rights. Staff knew people very well and provided sensitive care which met people’s needs. Staff were aware of the limits of their role and people who used the service were actively encouraged to direct their own lives.

Right culture: Ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensured people were supported to develop their skills and independence and take part in their local community if they wished. The registered manager led by example and senior staff worked alongside newer staff to ensure everyone was delivering care in the same way.

There were clear safeguarding procedures in place and staff understood their responsibilities. Risks were assessed and managed well. People’s medicines were administered safely. There were enough staff and recruitment procedures were robust. Staff followed best practice in reducing the risk and spread of infection.

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. Staff were trained and received a good induction into the service.

Staff worked in partnership with other health and social care professionals to meet people’s healthcare needs. Where people needed support with their eating and drinking this was well managed and their food choices respected.

Staff were kind and caring and feedback from people who used the service and relatives was very positive. People felt they received individualised care which met some very specific needs. The registered manager, who was also the owner of the business, was held in high regard by staff and people who used the service.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service and further systems were being developed. Incidents and accidents were analysed and learnt from to reduce the likelihood of a repeat.

There was a clear plan and vision for the future of the business and any learning was identified and acted on. Staff said they received good support from the registered manager and the supported living co-ordinators.

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

Why we inspected

This service was registered with us on 01 December 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.