We carried out a review of the data available to us about Four Meadows on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Four Meadows, you can give feedback on this service.
About the service
Four Meadows is provided by The Lantern Community and is a supported living service providing personal care to 23 people at the time of the inspection. This service provides care and support to people living in 6 ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live in their own home as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. People shared their homes with volunteer support workers called co-workers. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; CQC only inspects where people receive 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
Right Support:
People and relatives told us how they or their family member could choose how they wanted to live and received the support they needed to do this. Staff encouraged and supported people’s choice and independence.
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.
People were encouraged and supported to maintain a healthy lifestyle and supported to enjoy a wide variety of hobbies and interests which maintained their sense of well-being.
Risks were well managed with the least possible restriction and people were well supported to maintain and develop an independent lifestyle and lead active lives.
Right Care:
Care and support were provided according to people’s individual needs and wishes. Staff ensured people’s privacy and dignity were respected. People felt safe with staff and enjoyed spending time with staff who they knew well. Staff had a good understanding of people's care needs and ensured care and support was personalised.
Risk assessments provided up to date guidance and information for staff. They gave clear information for how staff could ensure people made informed choices and lived their best lives.
Staff had training on how to recognise and report potential abuse. There were enough staff on each shift to ensure people were supported safely. Staff received a robust induction and completed specialist training, to ensure their knowledge remained current.
Right Culture:
People, relatives and staff had confidence in the leadership of the service and felt it was well-led. The registered manager and provider-maintained oversight of the service through regular conversations with people, relatives and staff as well as through a programme of quality assurance audits to ensure the service was working to the provider’s policies and procedures.
The provider’s monitoring processes were effective in helping to ensure people consistently received good quality care and support. Staff and volunteers knew and understood people well and were responsive to their needs. People and those important to them were involved in planning their care.
The registered manager demonstrated joint working with health professionals which provided specialist support to people, involving their families and other professionals as appropriate. Staff demonstrated good understanding around providing people with person centred care and spoke knowledgably about how people preferred their care and support to be given.
People, relatives and staff felt confident in raising any concerns with the registered manager and told us any concerns would be listened to and acted upon.
Staff and relatives spoke of an open, supportive and friendly culture within the service, that placed people and their needs at the heart of the service.
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 this service was good (published 7 March 2018).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. As a result we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
The overall rating for this service has remained good based on the findings of this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Four Meadows on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
This service provides care and support to people living in three 'supported living' settings, so that they can live in their own home as independently as possible. People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. People shared their homes with volunteer support workers called co-workers. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support. There were 13 people being supported by this service at the time of the inspection.
The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support CQC policy and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion.
Not everyone using Willow End Office service received the regulated activity personal care. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.
There was a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
This was the first inspection of Willow End Office service provided by The Lantern Community.
People were safe. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities to safeguard people from the risk of harm and risks to people were assessed and monitored regularly.
Staff understood how to prevent and manage behaviours that the service may find challenging.
Staffing levels ensured that people's care and support needs were continued to be met safely and safe recruitment processes continued to be in place.
Staff understood the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and how to support people's best interest if they lacked capacity. However assessments were not recorded. We have made a recommendation about the recording of mental capacity assessments and best interest decisions in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
People's needs and choices continued to be assessed and their care provided in line with up to date guidance and best practice. They received care from staff that had received training and support to carry out their roles.
Risks continued to be assessed and recorded by staff to protect people. There were systems in place to monitor incidents and accidents. There were arrangements in place for the service to make sure that action was taken and lessons learned when things went wrong, to improve safety across the service.
Staff continued to support people to book and attend appointments with healthcare professionals, and supported them to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The service worked with other organisations to ensure that people received coordinated and person-centred care and support.
Medicines were managed safely. The processes in place ensured that the administration and handling of medicines were suitable for the people who used the service.
Staff were caring and compassionate. People were treated with dignity and respect and staff ensured their privacy was maintained. People were encouraged to make decisions about how their care was provided.
Staff had a good understanding of people's needs and preferences.
People, relatives and staff were encouraged to provide feedback about the service and it was used to drive improvement.
Quality assurance audits were carried out to identify any shortfalls within the service and how the service could improve.