Archived: Craegmoor Supporting You in Bristol & Wiltshire

Updated 2 December 2014

An inspector visited the office of Craegmoor Supporting You in Bristol & Wiltshire on 7 August 2014. Before visiting the office we checked the information that we held about the service. We looked at the notifications we had received from the service. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. Health and social care professionals were contacted in order to gain their views about the service.

We reviewed the Provider Information Record (PIR) and previous inspection reports before the inspection. The PIR was information given to us by the provider. This enabled us to ensure we were addressing potential areas of concern. There had been no breaches of the regulations when we last inspected Craegmoor Supporting You in Bristol & Wiltshire in August 2013.

The registered manager told us the service was providing support to 15 people, three of whom received support with their personal care. Our inspection focussed on the provision of personal care. We met with two people at their home, four members of staff and the registered manager. Three people’s care records were looked at, together with other records relating to their support and the running of the service.

This report was written during the testing phase of our new approach to regulating adult social care services. After this testing phase, inspection of consent to care and treatment, restraint, and practice under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) was moved from the key question ‘Is the service safe?’ to ‘Is the service effective?

The ratings for this location were awarded in October 2014. They can be directly compared with any other service we have rated since then, including in relation to consent, restraint, and the MCA under the ‘Effective’ section. Our written findings in relation to these topics, however, can be read in the ‘Is the service safe’ sections of this report. 

Updated 2 December 2014

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by CQC which looks at the overall quality of the service.

Craegmoor Supporting You in Bristol & Wiltshire is a ‘supported living’ service. This type of service helps people to live independently in their own homes and in the local community. Some people who received support had their own flats and others were tenants in a house which had shared communal areas.

This was an announced inspection, which meant the provider knew we would be visiting. This was because we wanted to make sure the registered manager, or someone who could act on their behalf, would be available to support the inspection.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law, as does the provider.

People received support and guidance which promoted their safety. However improvement was needed in the procedure for recruiting staff. This was not as thorough as it should have been to protect people from the risks of unsuitable staff.

The service was effective in meeting people’s needs. One person commented; "It lets me be independent". Staff received training so they were competent when providing support. A staff member told us; "I know exactly what I should be doing and when." This was because there were support plans in place which clearly set out the support that had been agreed with people.

Staff sought to obtain people’s views and to provide support in the way they wanted. Staff had good information about people so support could be tailored to their individual needs and preferences. People who were tenants in a shared house were supported with making decisions which helped them to maintain good relationships.

People had support plans which were kept under review to reflect their current needs. Activities such as "going out late at night" had been assessed so that any risks to people could be identified and reduced. Staff emphasised the importance of supporting people in the community. People had been given information so they knew what to do if they had any concerns about their care and support.

People benefited from a well run service. The registered manager was described as "very hands on" and as knowing how she wanted the service to develop so it was more responsive to people’s needs. The provider had systems in place for monitoring the service and for identifying what was working well and where improvements were needed.

We found a breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.