SENSE Community Services and Supported Living (South West)

Updated 5 July 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The first day of the inspection was carried out by one inspector. The second day was carried out by one inspector accompanied by an interpreter who is fluent in British Sign Language.

Service and service type:

Sense Community Services and Supported Living (South West) provides an outreach service and supported living service for deafblind adults who are dual or single sensory impaired with additional physical or learning disabilities. The location headquarters is at Providence Court. The provider is Sense, a national charity organisation for people who are deafblind. The term 'deafblind' covers a wide range of people, some of whom may or may not be totally deaf and blind. At the time of this inspection there were 12 people using the service.

The service had two managers registered with the Care Quality Commission. One manager is responsible for the supported living service and one manager is responsible for the outreach services. 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 5 days’ notice of the inspection site visit because it is small and the managers are often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in.

The second day of the inspection was delayed because we needed to wait until an interpreter was available to enable us to have confidential discussions with people who used the service.

What we did:

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included notifications we received from the service, and communication from other professionals who supported people who used the service. The provider had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR) before the inspection. Providers are required to send us key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We also received feedback from three health or social care professionals.

During the inspection we spoke with two registered managers, six people who used the service, five staff and one relative. We also looked at a range of information, including two people’s care records and medicine records, staff records, records of accidents, incidents and complaints, audits and quality assurance reports.

Updated 5 July 2019

About the service:

Sense Community Services and Supported Living (South West) provides an outreach service and supported living service for deafblind adults who are dual or single sensory impaired with additional physical or learning disabilities. The location headquarters is at Providence Court. The provider is Sense, a national charity organisation for people who are deafblind. The term 'deafblind' covers a wide range of people, some of whom may or may not be totally deaf and blind. At the time of this inspection there were nine people who received support from the service in a supported living setting and 12 people receiving an outreach service.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

People’s experience of using this service:

People were supported by staff who were passionate about giving people the right support. The staff team were exceptionally sensitive to the needs of people with sensory loss. Staff understood the things that were important to each individual, including the small everyday things that people with full hearing and sight may take for granted, such as who was in the room with them, and what other people were wearing. People wanted to know about the colours around them, the plants in the garden, and if there was a rainbow in the sky. They also enjoyed a joke. The skilled support from staff enabled people to experience the world around them, and to feel connected to friends, family and the local community.

People were truly respected and valued as individuals. Staff were sensitive to people’s feelings, worries and concerns and used their communication skills to help people express their feelings. member of staff told us, “When people feel emotional staff give people time to sit and chat”. People told us they felt safe in the service. Staff knew how to protect people from all forms of abuse or discrimination. The service considered innovative ways of helping people gain independence and achieve goals and wishes, and at the same time remain safe, for example through the use of technology.

Staff were highly skilled in using the appropriate communication methods for each person. We observed staff using British Sign Language fluently. People and staff enjoyed sharing a joke. We observed people and staff laughing and enjoying lots of friendly banter through the use of sign language. People told us the staff were well trained, and the records we saw supported this. There was a stable and consistent staff group who people knew and trusted. Staff were recruited safely and there were enough staff available to meet people’s needs. Staff were flexible, and willing to work at times to suit each person, which meant people were able to go out, and to do the things they wanted, when they wanted. Staff received good induction and ongoing training and updates on a range of topics relevant to people’s needs.

People were empowered to realise their full potential and achieve their dreams and goals. The service employed specialists such as art therapists, and also worked with external specialists to support people to learn new skills. Staff were exceptionally skilled in recognising people’s abilities and talents and giving them the confidence and emotional support to succeed. Staff were passionate about embracing people’s interests. We saw examples of colourful and skilled artwork, and heard about the many hobbies and interests people participated in. We also heard how some people’s lives had been transformed since they began receiving support from Sense. A relative told us, “Its heaven for [person]. She can do so much here. She has come out of herself.”

People were fully involved and consulted in every aspect of the support they received. A person who was deafblind told us, “I have a support plan. I give feedback on the plan. I give text feedback on the plan. It's all good. I use Braille. I can make changes and edits. I am confident the staff follow the care plan”.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence. If people lived in settings that did not give them the freedom or independence they wanted, the service worked with other agencies such as housing associations to help them find a place to live that better suited their needs.

The service was well-led. The well-established staff team were highly motivated and told us the registered managers were supportive. There were good quality assurance systems in place and people were consulted and involved in making positive improvements to the service. A person told us about the service they received and said, “Well I think it's outstanding!”

Rating at last inspection: The previous inspection took place on 23 September 2016 when the service was rated as Good overall, with Outstanding in the Responsive domain.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate, high quality care. Further inspections will be planned based on the rating. If we receive any concerns we may bring our inspection forward.

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