Priory Supported Living Kent

Updated 11 November 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by three inspectors.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in four ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. 20 people lived in shared supported living settings and three people lived alone in their own homes. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period of notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be available to support the inspection. We also needed to be sure that people were aware that we would be visiting, so they could decide if they would like to speak with us or not. Inspection activity started on 8 June 2022; we visited the office location on 9 June 2022. We continued with our inspection activity to ensure we could make robust judgments about the service and re-visited the office location on the 12 October 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we received about the service, including things the provider must notify us about, for example, accidents or safeguarding concerns. We sought feedback from the local authority and other professionals who work with the service. We sought feedback from Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

We spoke with six people who used the service. We spoke with 10 members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager and administrator. We received additional feedback from three staff who work for the service either by email or by telephone. We received feedback from one professional who had visited the service.

Updated 11 November 2022

About the service

Priory Supported Living Kent provides a supported living service to people living in their own home or in shared accommodation in four locations across Kent and East Sussex. The aim is for people to live in their own homes as independently as possible. Peoples’ care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. People being supported had a range of needs and included people with a learning disability and autistic people. The service supported 23 people across all locations. Some people lived on their own and some people lived in shared accommodation. In the shared accommodation people had their own bedrooms. Shared facilities included bathrooms, lounges, kitchens and outside areas. The shared accommodation had a room for staff who provided overnight support.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (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.15 people were receiving personal care at the time of our inspection.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Some documentation lacked information and specific detail. Although this did not have a direct impact on people there could be a risk staff that were new or unfamiliar with people would not have the guidance to support them safely. The registered manager had taken action to improve records and documentation, but further improvements were needed.

There were enough staff to support people with their individual needs. Staff received training to support them in their roles and were offered supervision meetings with a manager to discuss any areas they were concerned about or wanted to improve. Staff understood the process for reporting safeguarding concerns and risks to people were managed well. People were supported to take their medicines safely.

People’s health needs were supported and other healthcare professionals provided advice and support. People chose what food and drink they wanted, and staff offered advice about healthy food choices.

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.

Staff spoke to people in a respectful and caring way. People and their relatives fedback positively about the care and support they received. Peoples individual preferences and rights were respected.

People were supported to pursue interest’s and activities. Some people had aspirations and goals, staff helped people plan how they would achieve their goals. People were able to make complaints about the service which were responded to. Information was provided to people in a variety of ways to meet their communication needs.

Staff were positive about the registered manager and direction of the service, they told us there had been an improvement in the culture and they felt more engaged and supported. There were auditing processes in place to keep oversight of the service, audits identified shortfalls so improvements could be implemented. People and staff were asked for their feedback about the service so continuous improvement could be made.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Support:

People were supported by staff to pursue their interests. Staff supported people to achieve their aspirations and goals. Staff supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision-making. Staff communicated with people in ways that met their needs. Staff supported people to play an active role in maintaining their own health and wellbeing.

Right Care

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs.

Right Culture

People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff. Staff knew and understood people well and were responsive, supporting their aspirations to live a quality life of their choosing. The service enabled people and those important to them to worked with staff to develop the service. Staff valued and acted upon people’s views.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service under the previous provider was good (published 22 February 2022). At this inspection we found the provider remained good.

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of Right support right care right culture. This inspection was carried out to review the effective, caring and responsive domains not reviewed at our last inspection in February 2022. However, we received concerns in relation to the management of risk, financial management, staffing and accidents and incidents. Professionals working with the service reported a lack of responsiveness from the managers when following up on concerns. As a result, we undertook a comprehensive inspection to review all key questions.

At our last inspection we found that the provider and registered manager needed to address the negative, closed culture amongst staff and improvements to quality assurance, auditing and reporting processes were required. At this inspection we found the culture in the service had improved. Staff told us they felt well supported and the service had improved.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.