L'Arche Ipswich

Updated 31 July 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this comprehensive inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection team of this small service consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type:

The service is registered for personal care and offers live-in support to 15 people living with a learning disability

The service had an experienced 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 the service very short notice of the inspection visit because it is small, and the registered manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in and available to talk with us.

The inspection site visit activity started on 16 April 2019 and was completed on the same day. We visited one of the supported living locations and spoke with the management teams there to review care records, meet staff and discuss policies and procedures. Later that evening we returned to meet with the people who used the service who had been out.

What we did:

Prior to the inspection we reviewed any notifications we had received from the service. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to tell us about by law.

We asked the service to complete a Provider Information Return. This information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed any information about the service that we had received from members of the public and external agencies.

During the inspection we looked at records relating to two people’s care. We talked with seven care staff and a deputy animator, or team leader, who explained the recruitment system, discussed their training and support experiences and their work with the people they supported. We also spoke with the registered manager and the community leader and discussed the audits and systems in place to check on the quality of service provided and their plans for improving the service. We also spoke with five people who used the service and received email feedback from the relatives of five people and two healthcare professionals.

Updated 31 July 2019

About the service: L'Arche Ipswich The Cornerstone provides outstanding care and support to people living in a ‘supported living’ setting, so that they can live as independently as possible and reach their full potential. 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 continues to be an outstanding service that is registered for personal care and offers an innovative style of care and support. The majority of staff share the same home as the 15 people living with a learning disability, that they support. The people who use the service call themselves and are referred to within the community as core members. The core members, or people who use the service, live in their home, as a community, along with their assistants (staff) in four shared houses in Ipswich. As well as the staff that share the accommodation with the people, they are also supported by other staff that live outside the community.

L'Arche Ipswich The Cornerstone has been closely 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 continued to receive outstandingly well planned and coordinated person-centered support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

People’s experience of using this service:

People who used the service and their relatives were extremely complimentary about the quality of service they received. One person told us, “I am more than happy, they are brilliant.” One person’s relative said, “We believe L’Arche is the best place for [our relative] to live and we are grateful for that.” Another relative told us, “My overall view of the support [my relative] receives at L’Arche is excellent, they go above and beyond. Families are encouraged to visit, keep in contact and are always welcomed into the community.”

All the staff we talked with had an empathetic understanding of the people who used the service and the help and support they needed to stay safe, to maintain their wellbeing and to reach fulfilment.

Some of the staff lived amongst the people they supported and used shared facilities. They interacted with people in an open and inclusive way, people told us that it felt as if the staff were part of their family.

The service supported people in positive risk taking, in a way that kept people safe but allowed them to make their own decisions about the way they lived.

Staff continued to receive safeguarding training and acted when necessary to prevent any harm or abuse.

Recruitment practices remained robust and contributed to protecting people from staff who were unsuitable to work in care.

People who use the service were included as part of the recruitment team in a meaningful way, meaning that people were able to help decide who was going to work and live with them. People told us this made them feel in control, one person said, “It’s like choosing a flatmate.”

There were ample staff to enable people to live active and enriched lives.

People were supported by staff who were skilled, highly motivated and very caring. This led to people being able to develop loving, longstanding friendships with staff that were maintained once staff had left the service.

People continued to be consulted over their care needs and were actively encouraged to make their own decisions, so they could retain control of their lives.

Care plans were very person centred and individual to each person. People took an active role in developing their care plans and took ownership of them. One person told us that staff took time to sit with them and go through their care plan while it was reviewed, which they looked forward to.

Staff were responsive in identifying and reviewing changes to support people’s wellbeing, including their physical and mental health.

The service continued to be outstandingly well run by a committed management team and there were detailed and robust systems in place to constantly assess and monitor the service. The service had continued to make plans to develop, improve and grow so they could offer more people an outstanding level of care and support.

Rating at last inspection: Our last inspection report of this service was published July 2016 and the service was rated as outstanding in three of the five key questions, caring, responsive and well led.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk