The Care Quality Commission is the new health and social care regulator for England. We look at the joined up picture of health and social care. Our aim is to ensure better care for everyone in hospital, in a care home and at home.
The CQC has recently changed name from it originally called CSCI. All social care providers are inspected. Options received an unannounced inspection on 30th July 2007. Following this inspection we received the overall quality rating of ‘Excellent’ for our services. Below is a brief summary of our inspection report.
Summary
This is an overview of what the inspector found during the inspection. The inspection included visits to a number of people who are supported by Options in their own homes, discussing with them – and in one case their family – the support they receive from the agency. Support staff were present during two of these visits and the inspector talked to them about their work. A second day was spent on a site visit to Options’ office. The inspector spoke to the human resources officer, two of the development managers and the training coordinator. He examined many documents, in particular care plans, recruitment files, training records and policies. Survey forms were sent to a sample of service users, their families and some staff. The Chief Executive completed an Annual Quality Assurance Assessment (AQAA) for the Commission before the inspection. This includes the agency’s own assessment of what it feels it does well and what it could do better.
What CSCI/CQC said Options does well:
“Options for Supported Living supports many people who have previously presented challenges to services. Staff work closely together in teams and many of them have a dedicated commitment to the individuals they support. This has enabled people who may otherwise have remained in some form of institutional care to live independently.
Options supports and in part funds a self advocacy organisation for the people it supports, called ‘Voices R Us’. This, and Options’ staff, arranges events and activities for people who are supported and their families. These activities go well beyond the normal work of a domiciliary care agency.
The agency provides an innovative range of training for its staff and has helped to develop a new, specialist national qualification. Recruitment procedures are thorough and imaginative and include recruitment workshops to provide a pre-employment ‘taster’ for most potential recruits. People who Options support take part in the workshops. Options states that it has ‘a person centred approach to all that we do’.
What has improved since the last inspection?
Training has continued to develop and 57 staff are taking the new Certificate of Inclusion course, which leads to a dedicated qualification equivalent to NVQ3. Two ‘Inclusion coordinators’ have been appointed to further support social activities for people who Options supports. The quality assurance process has been strengthened and a Monitoring Officer has been appointed to help assess progress in improving services.”
Highlights of the CSCI/CQC report:
‘People who are supported and their families said that staff attend their homes punctually and never have a support worker who they have not previously met. Options do not use external agency staff and puts great emphasis on continuity of support and consistency of staff.’
‘The agency’s recruitment procedures are comprehensive and provide appropriate protection for service users. Staff are well trained to meet the needs of service users and good progress is being made towards meeting the targets set out in the National Minimum Standards.’
‘Options for Supported Living has an effective management and staffing structure, which sustains a consistent service to people supported by the agency. Service users are supported in raising issues about their care through a self advocacy group. The quality assurance process has been extended and seeks to reflect the views of people who receive support and their families.’
‘Detailed assessments are received from commissioning bodies, setting out how support is to be provided, so that their support needs are met. The services provided are consistent and reliable, so people receive appropriate support.’
‘Care planning documents are detailed and are regularly reviewed, providing support workers with the information they need to meet people’s needs effectively. People who the agency supports are able to take part in a range of activities run by the agency and the self advocacy organisation ‘Voices R Us’.’
