Background to this inspection
Updated
24 June 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
One inspector, a member of the CQC medicines team and an Expert by Experience carried out the inspection. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The Expert by Experience made telephone calls to relatives.
Service and service type
This service provides care and support to people living in three ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. 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.
The service had two managers registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.
Inspection activity started on 28th April and ended on 11th May. We visited the office location on 29th April and visited people in their homes on 2nd May and 5th May.
What we did before inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was registered. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.
This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with four people using the service and five people’s relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the registered managers. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and various medication records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate the evidence found.
Updated
24 June 2022
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.
About the service
The service is a supported living service, providing support to people living in their own tenancies.13 people were using the service at the time of the inspection.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support
Staff provided effective support to identify people’s aspirations and goals and assist people to plan how these would be met. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of people’s strengths and promoted what they could do. There was an ethos of supporting people to develop new skills and achieve independence where possible.
People had choices about their living environment and made decisions about décor and how their properties were used.
Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community.
Staff supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision making.
Right Care
People could communicate easily with staff as staff understood their individual communication styles.
Staff promoted equality and diversity in their support for people. They understood people’s cultural needs and provided culturally appropriate care. People received kind and compassionate care from staff who respected people’s privacy and dignity.
Staff understood how to protect people from abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it.
People could take part in activities and keep in touch with people who were important to them. They were supported to develop and maintain meaningful friendships and relationships in the wider community.
Right culture
The service had enabled people and those important to them to work with staff to develop the service.
Feedback was regularly sought from people, although a small number of relatives told us they did not always feel engaged and were not familiar with the management of the service. The provider told us they were taking steps to address this.
Staff and managers ensured the quality and safety of the service had been fully assessed to ensure people were safe. Safe recruitment practices were followed. Staff knew and understood people well. People received good quality care, support and treatment because trained staff and specialists could meet their needs and wishes.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Why we inspected
We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of Right support right care right culture.
Follow up
We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.