Platform (Hull)

Updated 26 November 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. We visited the service user in their own home and observed staff practice.

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 homes.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 9 November 2022 and ended on 16 November 2022. We visited the service user’s home on 14 November 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in 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 staff, and electronic file sharing to enable us to review documentation.’ The assessment was carried out 9 November 2022 to 16 November 2022. A home visit was carried out 14 November 2022.

We spoke with one relative, two care staff and the registered manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included one person’s care records and medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and supervision. We reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 26 November 2022

About the service

Platform (Hull) is a domiciliary care service providing personal care and support to people with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, physical disability and younger adults in their own homes. The service currently supports one person with personal care in their own home.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance Care Quality Commission (CQC) follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

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; however, the policies and systems in the service did not always support this practice. We have made a recommendation about this.

The service did not have an end of life policy in place should they be required to support someone in the end stages of life. We have made a recommendation about this. The service was not supporting anyone at the end of their life during inspection.

Right Support:

Staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life. Staff supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision-making. Staff communicated with people in ways that met their needs. Staff supported people to take part in activities and pursue their interests in their local area. Staff wore personal protective equipment (PPE) appropriately which helped to protect people from the risk of infection.

Right Care:

Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. There were enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs. We observed positive interactions between people and staff. People’s care and treatment support plans reflected their range of needs and this promoted their wellbeing and enjoyment of life. Relatives told us they were involved in care planning and could attend meetings. Staff assessed people’s risks appropriately and encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.

Right Culture:

Staff knew and understood people well and were responsive, supporting their aspirations to live a quality of life of their choosing. Staff told us they enjoyed their job and making a positive difference to someone’s life. Staff turnover was low, which supported people to receive consistent care from staff who knew them well. People and those important to them were involved in planning their care and staff evaluated the quality of care supported to people, involving the person, their families and other professionals as appropriate.

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 21 October 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection to rate the service.

Follow up

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