Venus Healthcare

Updated 18 January 2024

Venus Healthcare is a supported living service providing personal care to people with a learning disability or autistic people and mental health care needs. People lived in self-contained flats located throughout London and Surrey. The Care Quality Commission [CQC] does not regulate premises used for supported living as people’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements for this type of adult social care setting. Furthermore, CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. At the time of our inspection only three out of the eleven people currently using this supported living service were receiving personal care and support. '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.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 was the providers inaugural inspection. We conducted an announced on-site inspection of this service on 7, 8 and 20 February 2024 and gave the provider 48 hours’ notice. This was because we needed to be sure the provider would be available to support this inspection. We visited the provider’s offices and two flats where people using the service lived on 8 February 2024. We looked at 33 quality statements during this inspection and found evidence of multiple concerns which the provider will need to take action to address and improve.We identified four breaches of regulations where the provider had failed to always manage appropriately; risks people using the service might face; complaints they had received; notifiable incidents in a timely manner to all the relevant external agencies; and their governance systems to identify and address all the issues we found.

Updated 18 January 2024

Outcomes for people using this supported living service were positive overall, but there remains significant room for improvement. A person we spoke with told us they were happy with the care and support they received from the service. In addition, we observed the body language of another person we met with limited verbal communication remained positive when they interacted with staff who supported them. However, we received mixed feedback from peoples’ relatives and external health and social care professionals about their experiences of using or working with this provider. Right Support Right Support most staff follow people’s management/positive behavioural support [PBS] plans correctly to prevent and/or minimise risks to people. Staff received most of the right training and support they needed, but further staff training is still required to ensure they have all the relevant skills to keep people safe. People lived in an environment which was clean. People received continuity of care and support from a dedicated group of staff. Medicines were managed in a safe way. People were able to access the health care services they needed. Right Care Staff focused on people's strengths and supported them to have fulfilling and meaningful lives. People were treated equally and with compassion, and had their human rights and diversity respected. Staff treated people with dignity and upheld their right to privacy. People were supported to maintain their independence and to participate in meaningful activities. Right culture Service quality and safety was routinely assessed, monitored, and reviewed, and appropriate changes made to improve people’s care and support if required.