Archived: Independent Living Service - East Yorkshire

Updated 23 October 2018

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This comprehensive inspection took place on 13 September 2018. We gave the service two days’ notice of our inspection because we needed to be sure someone would be available to assist us with the inspection and organise for us to visit people who used the service.

The inspection was carried out by an inspector and an inspection manager.

Before our inspection, we looked at information we held about the service. We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the information we held about the service, such as notifications we had received from the registered manager. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We sought feedback from the local authority quality monitoring team and safeguarding team prior to our visit. We also contacted visiting professionals for feedback about the service.

During the inspection we spoke with five people who used the service and observed care staff interacting with people. We spoke with the registered manager, the acting deputy manager, three support workers and one relative. We looked at a range of documents and records related to people’s care and the management of the service. We viewed three people's care records, medication records, three staff recruitment, induction and training files and a selection of records used to monitor the quality of the service.

Updated 23 October 2018

Independent Living Service - East Yorkshire provides care and support to people living in ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live in their own homes 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.

At the time of our inspection the service was supporting 13 people with a learning disability or physical disability. People lived in their own bungalow, either individually or sharing with one or two other people. All the bungalows were co-located on the same site in Market Weighton, which is a small market town in East Yorkshire. People lived within walking distance of local shops and community facilities.

At our last inspection we rated the service Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

The care service had been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with a learning disability were supported to live as ordinary a life as any citizen. Although the service supported 13 people on the same site, which is higher than the amount considered best practice by Registering the Right Support, the provider ensured that people had an individually tailored service, a choice of who they lived with and were supported by, plus full access to the local community. Each person's bungalow was personalised to their taste and preferences.

There was a registered manager in post, supported by an acting deputy manager. We received consistently positive feedback about the management and leadership of the service.

Risk assessments were in place to help staff reduce risks to people’s safety and well-being. Staff had received training in safeguarding vulnerable adults and were aware of the action they should take if they had any concerns. Safe systems were in place to ensure people received their medicines as prescribed.

There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs. The provider conducted appropriate recruitment checks before staff started their employment, to ensure candidates were suitable to work with vulnerable people. Staff received comprehensive training, support and supervision to give them the skills and knowledge they needed for their role.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff supported people to maintain their health and access healthcare services whenever needed. Care files contained clear information about people’s healthcare needs and people had an annual health check. People were supported to have a healthy, balanced diet and received assistance, where required, with meal planning and food preparation.

Staff promoted people’s independence and helped people maintain and develop their daily living skills, such as cleaning their home and shopping. Staff upheld people’s privacy and dignity.

People told us staff were caring and we observed staff were kind, respectful and enabling in their approach. People’s diverse needs were respected. Staff understood and responded to people's individual communication needs. There was a range of information available to people in easy read or pictorial format.

The provider developed a care and support plan for each person, to give staff the information they needed to support people in line with their needs and preferences. The service had good links with the local community which helped enrich the opportunities available to people. People took part in a variety of different activities and pastimes of their choice.

The provider had a system in place for responding to any concerns and complaints. People told us they would feel comfortable reporting any concerns.

The provider had a quality assurance system in place and we found this was used effectively to monitor the quality of the service and make improvements where required. Our discussions with staff and people indicated there was a positive, person-centred culture within the service and people were satisfied with the support they received.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.