Royal Mencap Society – Lincolnshire Domiciliary Care Agency was rated Good across all five key questions at its January 2016 inspection, supporting 60 people with learning disabilities or autism across shared and private homes. The service demonstrated strong person-centred practice, effective safeguarding, sound medicines management, and well-embedded leadership with no regulatory breaches identified.
Strengths
· Staff knew how to recognise and report abuse, with robust safeguarding knowledge and clear escalation routes including to external agencies
· Medicines were safely ordered, stored, administered and disposed of, with analysis of any errors and corrective action taken
· Sufficient staffing levels maintained in both shared homes and private homes, with background checks completed before appointment
· Staff followed the Mental Capacity Act 2005, supporting people to make their own decisions and consulting appropriately when capacity was lacking
· Person-centred support plans in place, promoting independence and covering a wide range of daily living activities
Royal Mencap Society Lincolnshire Domiciliary Care Agency was rated Outstanding overall at its April 2019 inspection, with exceptional performance in caring and well-led domains driven by a deeply person-centred culture, creative community inclusion initiatives, and strong partnership working. The only minor shortcoming identified was two missing PRN protocols for paracetamol, which were rectified on the day of inspection.
Concerns (1)
minorMedication management: “We found two occasions when protocols were not in place for paracetamol. We spoke with staff about this and saw they had been put in place on the day of inspection.”
Strengths
· Exceptional person-centred care with staff going above and beyond, including supporting two people to get married and helping a reclusive person gain confidence to volunteer and speak at public events.
· Strong community inclusion ethos with creative initiatives such as a Sexuality and Relationships toolkit and speed dating event attended by over 100 people with a learning disability.
· Robust staff engagement through internal awards, electronic communication channels, team meetings, and a 'What Matters Most' feedback scheme involving reflection events.
· Outstanding partnership working with external organisations including BILD, hospital trusts, GPs, social workers, and clinical psychology teams.
· People involved in recruitment of their own support staff and service governance through advisory groups and tenants' meetings.
Quality-Statement breakdown (23)
safe: Using medicines safelyGood
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuseGood
safe: Staffing and recruitmentGood
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and managementGood
safe: Preventing and controlling infectionGood
safe: Learning lessons when things go wrongGood
effective: Staff support: induction, training, skills and experienceGood
effective: Assessing people's needs and choices; delivering care in line with standards, guidance and the lawGood
effective: Supporting people to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced dietGood
effective: Staff working with other agencies to provide consistent, effective, timely careGood
effective: Supporting people to live healthier lives, access healthcare services and supportGood
effective: Ensuring consent to care and treatment in line with law and guidanceGood
caring: Ensuring people are well treated and supported; equality and diversityOutstanding
caring: Respecting and promoting people's privacy, dignity and independenceOutstanding
caring: Supporting people to express their views and be involved in making decisions about their careOutstanding
responsive: Planning personalised care to meet people's needs, preferences, interests and give them choice and controlGood
responsive: Improving care quality in response to complaints or concernsGood
responsive: End of life care and supportGood
well-led: Engaging and involving people using the service, the public and staff, fully considering their equality characteristicsOutstanding
well-led: Working in partnership with othersOutstanding
well-led: Planning and promoting person-centred, high-quality care and support; and how the provider understands and acts on duty of candour responsibilityOutstanding
well-led: Continuous learning and improving careOutstanding
well-led: Managers and staff being clear about their roles, and understanding quality performance, risks and regulatory requirementsOutstanding