The Private Care Company

The provider was registered to support autistic people and people with a learning disability. We assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider could guarantee 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. Although the service met the needs of the people they supported, some improvements were needed around care planning and daily records. At the time of this assessment, not all staff had completed specific mandatory training on how to support people with a learning disability or autism spectrum disorder. The registered manager had plans in place to ensure this training would be completed in the next 3 months.

The provider did not always have effective governance and oversight. Whilst it had not impacted the safety of people, the provider needed to strengthen some processes for reviewing care plans, daily care notes and risk assessments. The provider had not always had effective quality assurance systems such as analysing incidents for themes and trends or monitoring care call times and durations. Leaders were open to feedback and had taken immediate actions to make service improvements. However, this will take time to fully embed in practice. Despite the shortfalls identified, people received care that met their needs.

People were supported to access other services when needed. Care plans included information about key services and professionals involved in their care and support. External professionals and partners spoke positively about effective partnership working with leaders and staff.

People received their medicines safely and in line with their preferences. Care plans detailed information about people’s likes, dislikes and interests. Care plans detailed people’s decision-making capability. The service worked within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and people were supported to have choice. Staff provided kind and compassionate care. They protected people’s privacy and dignity.

Staff were recruited safely and pre-employment checks were carried out to ensure they were safe to work with people. Staff had training, supervisions and spot checks to ensure they delivered care safely. Staff were encouraged to develop their skills so they could take on more senior roles to support and train other staff. The provider told us they celebrated good practice of staff. They held OSCA (Outstanding Service and Care Awards) events to celebrate staff achievements and this was shared in newsletters for people, relatives and other staff. The provider was implementing a new process to make it easier for staff to access their policies and procedure. The provider had leaders to manage the service. This included a registered manager and a care manager.