Atlantic Way Care

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.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right support: Model of care and setting maximises people's choice, control and Independence; Right care: Care is person-centred and promotes people's dignity, privacy and human rights; Right culture: Ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives.

People's equality, diversity and human rights were respected. The service's vision and values centred around the people they supported. The organisation's statement of purpose documented a philosophy of maximising people's life choices, encouraging independence and people having a sense of worth and value. Our inspection found that the organisation's philosophy was embedded in Atlantic Way Care. For example, people were constantly encouraged to lead rich and meaningful lives.

People felt safe and supported by staff in their homes. A person commented, "I like living here. I feel safe and can go to the staff with any concerns." A relative commented, "(Relative) is safe. I have no concerns." Staff demonstrated an understanding of what might constitute abuse and knew how to report any concerns they might have. Medicines were managed as necessary. Infection control measures were in place.

People's individual risks were identified, and risk assessment reviews were carried out to identify ways to keep people safe.

The service had recently been working closely with health professionals with regards to a person's diabetes management. As a result, a more robust diabetes protocol and full care plan was now in place and staff were to receive bespoke diabetes training specific to the person's diabetes management to ensure staff felt confident and competent in recognising and responding to changes in their condition.

The registered manager confirmed they had experienced difficulties with staffing, largely due to recruitment difficulties. They were working to address this and provide a safe service. People's core hours were covered in order to meet people's needs; however, the service was unable to always cover people's additional one to one hours. The registered manager was ensuring the local authority was aware of this when it happened ensuring transparency and accountability. The provider was actively recruiting for staff on an ongoing process via various advertising sources. The service had developed a dedicated recruitment on-boarding team and new staff were now in the 'pipeline' to commence employment once all appropriate checks had been completed.

Care files were personalised to reflect people's personal preferences. Their views and suggestions were taken into account to improve the service. People were supported to maintain a balanced diet. Health and social care professionals were regularly involved in people's care to ensure they received the care and treatment which was right for them.

Staff relationships with people were caring and supportive. Staff provided care that was kind and compassionate. Comments included, "The staff are kind, I like living here", "The staff are nice people", "The staff are always very friendly and helpful" and "The staff are very kind, they are magic."

There were effective staff recruitment and selection processes in place. People received effective care and support from staff who were well trained and competent.

Staff spoke positively about communication and how the registered manager worked well with them and encouraged their professional development.

A number of methods were used to assess the quality and safety of the service people received. The service made continuous improvements in response to their findings.