Dorset Supported Living

Updated 24 November 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 announced inspection took place on the 13 October 2018 and we made calls to professionals following this visit. The inspection team was made up of one inspector. The service registered with the Care Quality Commission in November 2017 and this was the first inspection of the service.

Before the inspection we reviewed information we held about the service. This included notifications the service had sent us and information received from other parties including a local authority quality monitoring team. The provider had submitted a Provider Information Return (PIR). 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.

During our inspection we spoke with two people. We also received feedback from two relatives. We spoke with four members of staff, and the registered manager. We received feedback from a social care professional who had worked with the service. We also looked at three people’s care records, and reviewed records relating to the running of the service. This included three staff records, quality monitoring audits and accident and incident records.

Updated 24 November 2018

Dorset Supported Living provides care and support to people living in a ‘supported living’ settings, 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.

Dorset Supporting Living is also a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own specialist housing. At the time of our inspection it provided a service to three people within its supported living house and one person in their own home. The people receiving support from the service were living with a range of conditions related to acquired head injury, autism and their physical and mental health.

We saw that staff were exceptionally responsive and reflective in the way they responded to people’s changing needs, monitoring the care delivered and seeking advice and guidance to ensure the best possible outcomes for people. This meant people experienced very good outcomes and received personalised care and support.

People were fully involved in planning. Staff had a detailed knowledge of people’s individual needs.

Staff respected people’s choices, and supported people to spend their time in ways that worked for them.

People were supported by staff who understood the risks they faced and how to support them to reduce these. Staff understood how to identify and report abuse and advocated on people’s behalf to ensure their access to appropriate support from other agencies. Staff also supported people to take medicines safely.

People were supported by skilled and caring staff who worked to ensure they lived their life the way they chose. Communication styles and methods were understood and staff supported people to understand the choices available to them.

People were enabled to have autonomy and choice over their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the systems in the service supported this practice.

People, a relative and a professional told us they could confidently raise any concerns and these were addressed appropriately.

Quality assurance systems involved people and led to a safer and better quality service.