St Anne's Community Services - York DCA

At the last assessment, the service was in breach of regulations around the provision of person-centred care and governance. We carried out this assessment to follow up on those breaches. The service had made improvements and is no longer in breach of regulations.

Safety was a priority for the service, staff were encouraged to raise any safety concerns, and the provider had a clear culture of learning from safety events. Staff had received training in safeguarding and understood their responsibilities. The management team had worked with people, families and professionals to implement robust and person-centred support plans and risk assessments. Staff were recruited safely and had received training appropriate for their roles. The provider managed medicines safely and people received their medicines as prescribed.

Staff assessed people’s needs and these assessments were detailed, up to date and kept under regular review. Staff used recognised risk assessment tools and followed best practice guidance throughout the delivery of people’s care. Staff consistently communicated well with other services. Staff worked hard to identify goals and aims for people which they enjoyed and which supported them to live healthier lives. Staff monitored and documented outcomes for people, looking at where things had worked well, and where improvements were needed.

Staff were kind and caring. Staff understood people’s needs well and communicated with people in an understanding and empathetic way. Staff gave people choice wherever possible. Staff had clear guidance which set out how to effectively support people should they become distressed. Staff understood the guidance and applied it consistently. The provider had initiatives in place to support staff wellbeing, and staff spoke about a positive morale within the service.

Staff had a robust understanding of people’s likes and dislikes. Staff and the management team were proactive in supporting people to lead fulfilling and active lives. Communication within the service was effective. The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. Staff had received equality and diversity training, and understood their responsibilities in this area.

There was a positive culture within the service, and staff were supported to provide consistent and person-centred care. The management team were competent, visible and led by example. They were knowledgeable about issues and priorities for improving the quality of service. There were robust quality assurance processes and procedures in place and the management team had good oversight of the service. There had been a clear focus on learning and improving the service.

We have 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. The service was compliant with this guidance.