21 July 2022
During a routine inspection
About the service
Covenant Care Supported Living Service provides care and support to people living in six supported living houses across Somerset and Devon, so that they can live as independently as possible. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. 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. There were currently eight people receiving personal care at the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
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.
The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.
Right support: Model of care and setting maximises people’s choice, control and Independence;
People felt safe and supported by staff in their homes. A person commented, “I am very happy here, I am definitely safe.”
Staff demonstrated an understanding of what might constitute abuse and knew how to report any concerns they might have. Medicines were safely managed, and good infection control measures were in place.
People’s individual risks were identified, and risk assessment reviews were carried out to identify ways to keep people safe.
There were enough staff to support people and there were effective staff recruitment and selection processes in place.
Support plans reflected people’s health and social care needs. People’s views and suggestions were taken into account to improve the service.
People were supported to maintain a balanced diet. Health and social care professionals were regularly involved in people’s care to ensure they received the care and treatment which was right for them.
Right care: Care is person-centred and promotes people’s dignity, privacy and human rights;
Staff relationships with people were supportive and genuine. Staff spoke confidently about people’s specific needs and how they liked to be supported. Through our conversations with staff it was clear they were very committed, kind and compassionate towards people they supported.
Health and social care professionals praised the service. Comments included, “Staff actively engaged the service user in his health care, prompting him to answer questions independently, and also clarified information for him if the service user appeared not to have understood.”
Right culture: Ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives.
The provider had clear care values, these included, compassion and empathy, respect, integrity and vision. Throughout our inspection we saw that staff worked with these values.
New staff completed an induction program which included undertaking shadow shifts. All staff had received relevant training to support people safely. Staff confirmed that they were supported in their roles and received supervisions and appraisals. A staff member commented, " All the management are approachable and have helped with inside and outside matters. Whenever I have raised any concerns, they have always been quick acting.”
Staff spoke positively about communication and how the registered manager and manager worked well with them. Staff comments included, “(registered manager) is great, (manager) is having a good impact in the company supporting staff."
A number of methods were used to assess the quality and safety of the service people received. The service made continuous improvements in response to their findings.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 6 April 2021 and this is their first inspection.
Why we inspected
This inspection was carried out due to the length of time the provider had been registered with CQC without receiving a formal rating.
We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of Right support, right care, right culture.
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.