Background to this inspection
Updated
8 March 2023
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
This inspection was carried out by one inspector and an expert by experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
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.
Registered Manager
This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.
At the time of our inspection there was a manager in post who had applied to register with us. An interim manager was in post while the manager was off work temporarily.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was announced. We gave the provider two days’ notice, so a senior person could meet with us and assist with our inspection.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. The provider was asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to help us plan the inspection.
During the inspection
During our inspection we spoke with 3 people using the service and observed interactions between people and staff to help us understand their experiences of receiving care and support at the service. We also spoke with the interim manager and 4 staff members. We also contacted 6 family members. We looked at records which included care records for 3 people, 2 staff files, medicines records and other records relating to the management of the service.
Updated
8 March 2023
About the service
Miss Sunita Larka t/a Direct Care and Support Services provides personal care for people who live in supported living accommodation. The people who use the service have a learning disability and/or autism. At the time of our inspection 22 people were using the service living in various supported living settings, including a self-contained flat. People rented their room from a private landlord and used shared facilities such as a kitchen and living room. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care and only 8 people received personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, 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.
Right support
Staff supported people to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence and they had control over their own lives. Care was delivered to people in a person-centred way, taking into account any protected characteristics. Risks to people were assessed well and staff followed clear guidance to keep people safe. Staff administered medicines to people safely and followed best practice. People were protected from risks relating to infection control.
Right care
Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other organisations to ensure people received the care they needed. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. Staff were recruited through processes to check they were safe to work with vulnerable people.
Right culture
The provider consulted well with people using the service, their relatives and staff to gather their feedback and involve them in the running of the service. Staff at all levels understood their roles and responsibilities including the legal responsibility to report significant incidents to the CQC. The provider had good oversight of the service to identify any concerns and resolve them promptly. Oversight had improved since the last inspection. A manager was in post who was registering with the CQC.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for the service was requires improvement, published on 18 March 2021. The rating has now improved to good because of the findings of this inspection.
Why we inspected
This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection. We also undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of right support, right care, right culture.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.