CJAJ Angels Supporting Living Limited

People were supported by staff who were recruited safely and had the right skills, values and training to safely support them even during periods of distress. There were enough staff available to support people and there were contingency plans in place to cover for absence to ensure consistency of care. There were effective systems in place to safeguard people from abuse. Risk was assessed and actions were put in place to reduce risks but engagement with the people themselves, relatives and professionals was not clearly documented in care plans, to evidence an approach that focussed on coproduction.

Throughout the assessment the registered manager and team were responsive to any issues highlighted and swiftly put measures in place to address them. We identified some issues with care plans and the lack of detail and clear guidance for staff. This risk was mitigated by the registered managers strong oversight, hands on approach to care delivery, and staff engagement. They demonstrated a strong desire to learn and improve from feedback and started to make improvements to documentation, making them clearer and with a stronger person-centred focus, immediately. We saw evidence of reviews and where updates had already been completed. Care plans included details on people’s life history and circles of support. On discussion with the registered manager, it became apparent they had a wealth of knowledge about people, their lives, preferences and culture but this had not transferred to care plans. This was discussed in full and the registered manager committed to ensuring this information was included in people’s care plans to support staff to understand people better.

People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment with appropriate legal authority and in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). We checked whether the service was working within the principles of the MCA. We found that staff and management worked within the MCA. People were not subject to unlawful or excessive restrictions. They had choice, control and freedom over their lives.

Medicines were managed safely and effectively, and people received their medicines consistently. Medicines support was not consistently documented effectively, for example recording medicine as not required, when it had been declined. This was discussed with the registered manager who communicated this to staff to ensure it was accurate in the future. We saw evidence of management auditing processes being completed.

People were supported by kind and compassionate staff who provided genuine caring support, respected people’s dignity, privacy and autonomy. The registered manager and team spoke passionately about providing people with the best care and support, respecting people’s choice and individual needs. One staff member said, “I listen to people’s needs, preferences and choices and provide care based on what is important to them.” Feedback from people and relatives reflected this and they gave us multiple examples of staff practice which demonstrated their caring and compassionate approach particularly for people living with complex care needs. One relative told us, “They are caring…. they quite often stay a bit longer than they should just to have a chat.”

The team at CJAJ Angels Supporting Living Limited valued each person’s individuality and had actively recruited staff and matched them with people from the same cultural background to be able to provide more person-centred care. Equality and diversity was respected including people’s individual spirituality and dietary needs. A relative told us, “Well, a very good example is one of the carers at the moment is making quite elaborate breakfasts. Caribbean banana fritters….The other day Jamaican soup they made.”

People’s independence was supported and they were encouraged to maintain their skills, for example cooking. People were given choice, which was communicated in a way that met their needs, including using local dialect familiar to their culture to support their understanding and engagement, and further recognise people’s diverse backgrounds.

People experienced a variety of activities both in the home and in the local, and wider community. Positive relationships with community contacts and relatives were fostered and communication between staff and family was positive.

Leaders demonstrated a positive and open approach to learning and improvement. The provider recognised some areas needed to be improved, to ensure documentation provided effective guidance for staff and risks were identified promptly. They recognised the importance of this and were committed to making these improvements.