Freesprings Ltd

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of this inspection there was one person using the service.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people. We considered this guidance as there were people using the service who have a learning disability and or who are autistic. The staff and management team had not received training to support people living with a learning disability.

Care plans lacked detail about people's likes and dislikes and general information about their physical and mental health conditions. The provider's risk assessment process did not cover all aspects of people's care and lacked detail to clearly tell care workers what to do to mitigate identified risks. People's care needs and preferences were assessed before people started to receive support to help ensure their needs could be met. However, not all information learned through assessment and subsequently through working with people was incorporated into care plans.

The registered manager had not identified the concerns we raised during this inspection in relation to care records and risk management, staff training and competency assessments, record keeping and recruitment processes. The registered manager was open and honest throughout the inspection process. They acknowledged the shortfalls and identified improvements required. After the inspection site visit the registered manager developed an action plan to address all the identified shortfalls.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the

least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The provider had enough staff to meet the person's needs and to manage any changes. A relative said staff were punctual and had never missed a care call. Staff received training in infection control and had access to personal protective equipment, relatives said staff wore face masks when in people's homes providing care and support. The registered manager had systems in place to help ensure learning from events, incidents or accidents that may occur.

The registered manager and staff provided safe support; this was confirmed by a relative. The registered manager was aware of their responsibility to report safeguarding concerns for external scrutiny and to notify CQC. At the time of this inspection no one receiving a service required support with medicines.

Staff provided kind and compassionate care. A relative said staff were polite, courteous and respectful to both the person using the service and to the wider family. An external professional said the care delivered was appropriate to meet people's needs. People, and their relatives where appropriate, were involved in decisions about their care and support.

The person and their relatives were happy with the care they received and felt they were supported in their chosen way. Staff supported the person with their interests and social activities. The registered manager had a system in place to record and monitor complaints to help ensure they could identify any action required or if there were recurring issues. However, no complaints had been received at the time of this inspection.