Sherbutt Home Care Services Limited

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in individual houses, bungalows and self-contained flats maintained by the provider. It provides a service to adults with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder. There were 33 people being supported by the service in their own homes.

We found the service had considered the national plan to develop community services for people with learning disabilities and/or autism - 'Building the Right Support'. This plan was introduced in 2015 and advises certain criteria that providers should meet when delivering good quality care, these are; quality of life, keeping people safe, and choice and control.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

People live extremely fulfilled and independent lives. Staff supported people to access educational and employment opportunities that were meaningful to them. Activities, events and holidays were chosen by people supported by the agency and they were involved in planning them each year. Staff went that extra mile to make people feel comfortable and accepted as individuals, celebrating their diverse needs.

Staff were passionate about the delivery of person centred care to meet individual needs and preferences. They worked closely with people to ensure they achieved their aspirations and worked as a team to improve the experiences for those supported by the agency.

The management actively sought people's views and opinions about the service and utilised their experiences to improve practice within the organisation. Relatives felt they could have frank and honest discussions with the registered manager and staff, who were responsive when dealing with concerns, and always listened to their views.

The service worked in partnership with health professionals to meet people's needs, this included additional specific training.

Staff used different methods of communication to ensure people understood and were able to make

informed decisions about how they wanted to live their life.

Care plans were detailed and included important information about how people wanted to be supported including preferences, interests, and life histories.

People and their relatives felt they were safe in their home environments and that staff supported them appropriately to access the community. Risk assessments were in place which identified risks and guided staff in how to minimise them. Medicines were managed, administered and stored safely.

Inductions were comprehensive and included introductions to people using the service, training, shadowing more experienced member of staff, and competency checks. Regular monthly supervisions, informal chats and annual appraisals supported staff to carry out their roles effectively.

Staff were caring and compassionate about delivering person centred care. They respected people's dignity and privacy. They obtained people's consent prior to delivering care and support and where people were unable to make decisions for themselves best interest meetings were held to support them. 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 support this practice.

Quality assurance processes were in place to identify any improvements that needed to be made. Audits were completed to ensure staff were competently carrying out their roles and identified any areas where additional training was needed.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found