Background to this inspection
Updated
20 February 2020
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 Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
The inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
This service provides care and support to people living in ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. People lived individually or in a shared house, the shared house accommodated up to three people. 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.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.
Notice of inspection
We gave a short period notice of the inspection because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 2 January and ended on 16 January 2020. We visited the office location on 2 January 2020.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority who works with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We visited one supported living house and spoke with two people who used the service. We spoke with three relatives. We also spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager, manager, assistant manager and four care workers.
We looked at two people’s care records in full and two care records in part. This included medicine administration records and daily notes. We looked at two staff recruitment and supervision files. We reviewed meeting minutes, quality assurance audits and a selection of other records relating to the management of the service.
We spoke with one social care professional who regularly works with the service.
Updated
20 February 2020
About the service
Acorn Community Care is a supported living service providing personal care to adults living with a learning disability and/or autistic spectrum disorder. The service was supporting seven people at the time of our inspection.
People lived in their own homes, either on their own or in a shared house for up to three people in and around the local area. People had support overnight. Staff had access to an on-call service 24 hours a day in the event of an emergency or unplanned situation.
The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The provider had undergone change since the last inspection. A new registered manager and management team were working to improve systems for maintaining quality and safety across the service. A new system of audits had been developed to help monitor quality. Staff shared a commitment to providing high quality care to people. The provider was looking at ways to gather people’s views to drive further improvement.
People felt safe with the staff supporting them. Staff were safely recruited and trained to use medicines safely as prescribed. Accidents and incidents provided opportunities for staff to reflect on their practice and were used to support improvements across the service.
People received effective support from staff, who were skilled and familiar with their needs. 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. We have made a recommendation about record keeping for mental capacity assessments and best interest decisions.
The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.
People and their relatives praised the caring approach by staff and felt confident in their care. Staff were aware of people’s emotional needs and provided support.
People’s care was person-centred and provided in flexible ways to adapt to their preferences. People were encouraged to pursue their interests and try new activities. People had opportunities to form new friendships and maintain their relationships with family members.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 01 January 2019). The provider had completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.