Background to this inspection
Updated
8 March 2023
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
Two inspectors and an Expert by Experience carried out the inspection. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The Expert by Experience made telephone calls to relatives.
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.
Registered manager
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 were 6 registered managers in post.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service short notice of the inspection. This was to enable the management team to provide the information we needed to undertake the inspection.
What we did before inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was registered. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.
This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with 9 people’s relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 5 members of staff and 1 registered manager. We visited people living in 4 separate properties. We reviewed a range of records. This included 6 people’s care records and various medication records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We reviewed records relating to the management of the service, including audits, policies and staff guidance.
We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.
Updated
8 March 2023
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
The service is a supported living service, providing support to people living in their own tenancies. 61 people were using the service at the time of the inspection
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support
Staff were highly knowledgeable about people’s needs, preferences and interests. Several staff had worked with people using the service for a very long time. Staff could ably demonstrate a good understanding about how people wished to be supported.
People had choices about their living environment and had made decisions about décor and how their properties were used. The provider had showed thought and understanding about how people wanted to live, identifying properties that best suited people’s needs and preferences.
Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community.
Staff supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision making.
Right Care
Staff understood people’s communication styles, and care needs. They demonstrated a genuine passion for proving people with high quality care.
The care that people received protected their privacy and dignity. Staff understood people’s cultural needs, and provided care in a way that met these needs.
Staff understood how to protect people from abuse. They all confirmed they had received training regarding safeguarding, and records confirmed this. They knew what to do if they suspected abuse, and CQC records showed the provider had taken action to safeguard people where required.
People were supported to develop and maintain meaningful friendships and relationships. People participated in the wider community using a range of community facilities.
Right culture
The service had enabled people and those important to them to work with staff to develop the service.
Feedback was regularly sought from people, and relatives told us they felt engaged in what was happening in their loved ones’ lives.
Safe recruitment practices were followed. Staff knew and understood people well. People received good quality care, support and treatment because trained staff and specialists could meet their needs and wishes.
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 in July 2021 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of right support, right care, right culture.
Follow up
We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.