Background to this inspection
Updated
13 August 2022
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
One inspector carried out the inspection.
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’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.
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 registered manager in post.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.
Inspection activity started on 26 July 2022 and ended on 28 July 2022. We visited the service on 26 July 2022.
What we did before inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not 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 plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with two people who used the service and two relatives. We observed staff interacting with people. We spoke with the registered manager and two support staff. We contacted four more staff via telephone, and four more health and social care professionals via email and telephone.
We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care and support records and two people’s medication records. We looked at two staff files. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including auditing, training data, photographs, policies and procedures were reviewed.
Updated
13 August 2022
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.
About the service
Real Life Options – South Tyneside is a ‘supported living’ service providing personal care to people with a learning disability and/or autism living in a bungalow with six bedrooms. The service was supporting six people with personal care at the time of our inspection.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support
¿ People felt comfortable, settled and able to do what they wanted to do. They were encouraged to try new things. Staff helped people enjoy a good quality of life through personalised support and good planning.
¿ Staff advocated well for people and were proactive in identifying their changing needs.
¿ People experienced good health and wellbeing outcomes. Staff supported this through working with external health and social care professionals. Staff understood the principles of safe medicines administration and people benefitted from the registered manager’s understanding and application of STOMP (Stopping the Over-Medication of People living with Autism and/or a Learning Disability) principles.
Right Care
¿ Staff had the right skills and experience to help people live the life they wanted. Staff were given the time to understand people’s differing needs and levels of independence.
¿ People got on well with each other, and staff. People were protected from the risk of social isolation, having strong bonds with people they lived with and accessing the community much more following the pandemic.
¿ Staff communicated well with people, using body language, picture cards and other means.
¿ People achieved their goals. Support plans and risk assessments were person-centred and detailed.
¿ Staff worked well with external professionals to keep people safe. They had regular training on safeguarding and how to report concerns. The provider had additional oversight of incidents and accidents to ensure lessons could be learned.
Right culture
¿ The culture of the service was in line with the key principles of guidance such as Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture and STOMP. The registered manager led the service well. They were not on site full time as they were also leading another nearby service, but people received a consistency of support. Staff knew their roles well.
¿ There were good levels of staff continuity and a team approach in place to support people. People and those who knew them best were involved in decisions about their care.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Why we inspected
We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of Right support, Right care, Right Culture. This was a planned inspection based on when the service first registered with us.
Follow up
We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.