‘I am doing more for myself now’
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Affinity Trust’s support in Somerset ‘Good’ in all five categories – caring, effective, responsive, safe and well-led.
CQC, the independent regulator of social care in England, carried out its inspection in early February. At the time, Affinity Trust supported 17 people in Somerset, mostly in the Mendips, in their own homes.*
CQC visited four of those people, spoke to a number of staff, and reviewed support plans, medication and other records.
The inspector noted:
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people’s outcomes were consistently good, and their feedback confirmed this
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people were supported and treated with dignity and respect
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people were relaxed and cheerful in the presence of staff, with ‘comfortable, friendly banter’ between people and staff
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the support was consistently managed and well-led.
CQC noted that Affinity Trust staff actively supported people to make decisions about their support, with one person saying: “I said I wanted to go for breakfast at [a local pub] and we went. I can say when I want to go out and where.”
Similarly, people were supported to be as independent as possible. One person said: “I know they [staff] are there when I need to ask for help or advice but I am doing more for myself now.”
In written feedback, one relative said: “It takes a certain quality of imagination, combined with organisational skills, to give the best support to our children who have special needs; and this you have in spades.”
The ‘Good’ rating means that, since July 2018, all Affinity Trust’s registered locations in England have been rated ‘Good’ by CQC.
* Affinity Trust also provides outreach support in Somerset; this support was not inspected.
Read the full report on CQC’s website
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