Airthrie Homes

Updated 23 March 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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was completed by an inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in a supported living setting, 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 a manager 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 we wanted to make sure someone would be available to support us with the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We reviewed a range of records. This included people’s care records, medicine administration records, satisfaction surveys, staff files, training records and staff supervision records. We also looked at audits and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures. We spoke with the registered manager and the deputy manager.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We spoke with three relatives and two people who used the service to obtain their views of the service. We also contacted three members of staff to ask them questions about their roles and to confirm information we had received about them during our inspection.

Updated 23 March 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 statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

About the service

Airthrie Homes is a supported living service which is registered to provide personal care. The service can support up to nine people. At the time of the inspection, they were supporting nine people, all of whom were receiving personal care. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

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

The supported living service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. This enabled people who used the service to live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes.

People received their health support in a kind and compassionate way from a staff team that knew them well and were familiar with their needs. The provider promoted the equality and diversity of people. Confidentiality of people’s personal information was maintained. People were supported to maintain relationships with their relatives.

People had their care needs assessed before they began to use the service. The provider ensured staff had the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively meet people’s needs. 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. Where people did not have the capacity to consent, the staff acted in accordance with legal requirements. People were supported to maintain good health and to access healthcare services when they needed.

Staff understood what abuse was and the actions to take if a person using the service was being abused. Risks to people were identified and care was planned to mitigate the risks. The provider had a safe recruitment and selection processes in place. There were enough staff working for the service to meet people’s needs. Medicines were managed safely. The provider had systems to ensure people, staff and visitors were safe regarding the spread of infection. The provider had a system in place to record and monitor accidents and incidents.

People received personalised care and support that was tailored to their individual needs. Care plans included people’s communication needs. There were systems in place to monitor how the service was run to ensure people received a quality service. The service sought feedback from people who used the service and their relatives, and we saw that this was acted upon. Regular audits and checks were undertaken to ensure the service was run well. The management team worked with a number of health and social care professionals and this helped to ensure people’s needs were fully met.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 8 November 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection because the service had not been previously rated.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.