Ocean Healthcare

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. We considered this guidance as there were people using the service who have a learning disability and or who are autistic.

Care was personalised and bespoke to each individual person receiving care. People were supported to eat and drink and maintain a balanced diet and staff supported people to be as independent as possible and to develop skills. People's care plans contained specific information about their needs in relation to the Accessible Information Standard, including where people responded to touch, rather than verbal prompts, to communicate. Staff communicated with people in the ways that suited them.

Risks were assessed and monitored and detailed risk management plans were in place. People's relatives felt confident that staff had the skills needed to manage people's risks safely. Staff were recruited safely and there were enough staff to meet people's needs, effective systems and processes were in place to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. Staff were matched to people to ensure they not only had the clinical skills required to meet their needs but that they also had the right personality to meet their emotional needs. One person's relative told us, "Staff were matched really well, the team slots right in with the family." Staff celebrated people's achievements and special occasions. For example, one member of staff made a power point with pictures of one child taking part in lots of exciting activities to celebrate their birthday. Staff respected the privacy and dignity of both the person they cared for and their family.

Innovative training methods were being used to make sure staff delivered care in the right way and the provider had purchased specialist training aids to support staff to develop their skills in a learning

environment. New staff completed training specific to the person they would be working with. The registered manager had recruited qualified nursing staff with different areas of expertise, including learning disabilities, mental health and paediatric care. This meant staff were supported by qualified staff with specialist knowledge.

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.

Ocean Healthcare's culture was driven by its organisational values. These were developed through team exercises and examining which values staff felt best represented the service and were woven through all aspects of the business operation. Staff spoke proudly about the values and how they made them a 'living' part of their everyday work. For leaders and staff, upholding the 'caring' aspect of their values meant not only caring for people using the service but for each other. For example, the provider recognised that staff found it difficult to obtain closure after supporting a child at the end of their life, especially where they had been supporting them for several years, so they purchased a piece of rural woodland with a stream running through it for staff teams to use for quiet reflection.

The provider had established a 'quality advisory committee' which met quarterly to analyse the quality and safety of the service being provided. The membership of the committee included external professionals and leaders invited challenge and scrutiny in order to drive improvement. The structure of the governance and quality management systems had been expanded and strengthened and consisted of a number of groups at different levels of management all contributing to the governance and oversight of the safety and quality of care being provided.

Ocean Healthcare is actively involved in the local community and has supported both groups of people and individuals through a number of initiatives. The managing director told us, "We believe we have a responsibility to help make where we live a richer place through what we do but also by giving back where we can.