Welmede Housing Association

Updated 23 August 2023

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

The inspection was carried out by 7 inspectors and 2 Experts by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in 29 ‘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 provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there were 2 registered managers in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short notice period of the inspection because we needed to arrange visits to the supported living homes.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection, including notifications of significant incidents. We sought feedback from professionals who had worked with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us 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 visited 15 of the 29 supported living services and spoke with 16 people who used the service about the support they received. We talked to 14 relatives by telephone to hear their views about the quality of care provided to their family members.

We spoke with the 2 registered managers and the provider’s regional director about how the service was run when we visited the service’s office. We talked with 10 service managers, 8 assistant service managers, and 21 support workers when we visited the supported living services.

We received feedback from 8 professionals who had worked with the service, including commissioners, health and social care professionals.

We reviewed 12 people’s care records, including their risk assessments and support plans. We checked 10 staff recruitment files and records of induction, training and supervision. We reviewed quality audits, meeting minutes, the complaints log, and the arrangements for managing medicines.

Updated 23 August 2023

About the service

Welmede Housing Association is a supported living service which provides care and support to people in their own homes. The service comprises 29 supported living properties across Surrey, each accommodating between 1 and 6 people.

The service is a subsidiary of the Avenues Group, a provider of support services for autistic people, people with learning disability, and acquired brain injury, across London, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Essex, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Shropshire and Hampshire.

CQC only inspects services 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. The service supported 136 people at the time of our inspection, 105 of whom received support with personal care.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

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.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right Support

Staff supported people to have the maximum possible choice, control and autonomy over their own lives. Staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, and supported people to enjoy fulfilling and meaningful lives. People were supported by staff to pursue their interests. Staff supported people to achieve their ambitions and aspirations.

Staff supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision-making. People were encouraged to be as independent as possible and to develop new skills. Staff communicated with people in ways that met their needs, including with people who had individual ways of communicating.

Staff supported people to play an active role in maintaining their own health and wellbeing. People were supported with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcome.

Right care

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it.

The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. The provider’s recruitment procedures helped ensure only suitable staff were employed. People were able to choose how and when they used their support, which maximised choice and control over their lives.

People continued to received care that was led by people’s needs and aspirations, was focused on their quality of life, and followed best practice. People could take part in activities and pursue interests that were tailored to them. The service continued to give people opportunities to try new activities that enhanced and enriched their lives.

Right culture

People continued to lead inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of managers and staff. There was a real focus on supporting and enabling people to be involved in their local communities.

Staff valued people’s individuality, protected their rights and enabled them to lead confident, empowered lives. People’s views were listened to and acted upon. Staff turnover was low, which meant people received consistent care from staff who knew them well. Staff placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did.

The provider remained committed to involving people who used the service, their families and staff in developing and improving the service. People and those important to them were involved in planning their care. Staff felt valued for the work they did and remained well-supported in their roles. Risks of a closed culture were minimised and people continued to receive meaningful support based on transparency, respect and inclusivity.

The provider’s governance arrangements remained extremely effective in keeping people safe and ensuring the care they received met their individual needs. People’s quality of life was continuously being enhanced by the provider’s culture of learning and improvement. Managers and staff continued to nurture effective relationships with other professionals to ensure people received high quality care and support.

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

Rating at last inspection

The registered provider of this service has changed since the last inspection. The last rating for the service under the previous provider was outstanding, published on 18 February 2017.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.