Rotherham Regional Office

We assessed the service because we had not visited since 28 September 2017. The assessment was also prompted in part due an increase in medicines errors. We found no evidence during this assessment that people were at risk of harm from these concerns, as the provider’s governance systems were effective, and any risk had been quickly identified and addressed, and people’s medicines were managed safely.

CQC only inspects services where people receive personal care. Personal care is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do provide personal care, we also consider any wider social care provided during our assessment. At the time of this assessment the service was supporting 18 people who received assistance with their personal care.

We assessed the service against ‘right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.

At this assessment we found the service was exceptional at making sure people were at the centre of their care and support choices. People’s care and support was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity. There was regular and proactive engagement with people, those close to them, and partner professionals. There was a very strong focus on supporting people to thrive, develop skills and enjoy new experiences, and to maintain important relationships.

The service was exceptional at developing appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs and people’s support plans and records met their requirements for meaningful communication and decision-making. The service strived to deliver care and support in line with best practice. People’s capacity was assessed and staff sought their consent to deliver care and support.

The provider had a very clear shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on being honest, caring and compassionate, positive, professional, and responsive. Staff and managers were brave in encouraging positive risk taking to help grow the horizons of the people they supported and encouraging staff to speak out if something was not right.

People received very reliable, timely and effective support from staff who understood their needs well. The management team investigated concerns and incidents thoroughly. Where things had gone wrong, they had addressed shortfalls promptly and used the lessons learned to strengthen and improve the safety and quality of the service and make sure safeguarding processes were effective.

There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience to provide a safe and personalised service. The staff and managers we spoke with were clear about their roles and very passionate about the support they offered, which was centred around and involved people in all decisions about their lives. We saw instances of exceptionally personalised care and support, and improvements in people’s health and wellbeing. This was underpinned by good governance and excellent management oversight.

Staff acted respectfully and professionally. They took the time to understand people’s preferences and to act on them. The provider asked people and staff for their feedback about the service and this was used to make improvements.