24 July 2019
During a routine inspection
The provider of the service had merged with the previous established provider in April 2018. The previous provider had constantly demonstrated they were providing good quality care. As part of the merger the new provider had retained a well-established staff group, including senior leaders such as the registered manager. Peabody Limited has three additional adult care services which have been inspected by the commission, and rated as good, with one that had outstanding features.
Supported living
People receiving supported living services rented accommodation separately from the care that was provided by the service. These were small shared houses and bungalows. Where care staff were required to remain at the service overnight, they were provided with appropriate sleeping arrangements.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People received an exceptionally safe service. Staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible to ensure that they were able to lead their best lives. The providers policies and systems supported this practice.
Staff had an excellent understanding of how to safeguard vulnerable people. The service had a very open and transparent culture and staff and people were supported to speak up if they had any concerns. All staff were recruited safely and people using the service were involved in this process.
People received a very effective service. Staff had access to great training opportunities and had an excellent understanding and knowledge of best practice relating to individual people’s care needs. All staff had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, and people were supported to have maximum choice and control over their lives.
People had access to a variety of health and social care services to enhance their physical and mental wellbeing. Healthcare professionals spoke highly of the support people received.
Staff were exceptionally caring and often went the extra mile to support people to live their best lives, including after their working day had finished. Professionals, relatives and people were very positive about the care that was provided. People were treated with respect and dignity and staff understood the value of maximising people’s independence and the positive impact this would have on people’s lives.
People received a service that was not only responsive to their needs but also incredibly person centred. Care plans documented how staff should manage identified individual risks to people, without imposing unnecessary restrictions on their lives. Disability was not viewed as a barrier to people accessing all potential opportunities, rather it was a challenge to find ways to support people to live in the way they wanted.
External professionals, people receiving a service and relatives told us that this service was outstandingly led. The registered manager acted as an exceptionally strong role model to all levels of staff. They were knowledgeable, kept up to date with all best practice guidance and disseminated this to staff effectively. There was a shared vision that every person receiving a service had their potential maximised. Team leaders and senior managers shared this passion and supported staff to work creatively with people to mitigate and manage potential risks, supporting them to lead fulfilling and meaningful lives. Staff had a high level of commitment and connection with the people in their care.
The registered manager operated a transparent service, constantly learning and sharing ideas, experiences and lessons learnt, not only within the organisation, but externally when networking with other health and social care services. This learning, open and transparent culture was filtered down throughout the staff group and ensured that people received outstanding care.
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 (23 December 2016). Since this rating was awarded the registered provider of the service has changed. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating of the service under the previous provider.
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.