Background to this inspection
Updated
13 August 2019
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 Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
The inspection team consisted of one inspector and one Expert 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 twelve ‘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.
The service had a manager who was in the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission. Registered managers 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 a short period of notice for the inspection because some of the people using the service could not consent to a home visit from an inspector. This meant that we had to arrange for a ‘best interests’ decision about this.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included information sent to us by the service, information from relatives of people using the service and the general public.
Due to technical problems, the provider was not able to complete a Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with nine people using the service and three relatives of people using the service. We also spoke with eleven members of staff, including the manager, team managers, assistant team managers, support workers and the bureau manager.
We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s support plans and medication records. We looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service including staff recruitment and team meetings, complaints and compliments and policies and procedures.
Updated
13 August 2019
About the service
Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council is a supported living service providing personal care and support to adults in a number of homes in the Stockport area. The homes varied in size, with larger homes having self-contained apartments with communal areas. The service can support up to 58 people. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting 52 people.
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 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 receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were kept safe by having appropriate numbers of staff who knew them well. People were encouraged to speak up if they weren’t happy and staff were confident in raising any concerns they had. Homes were kept very clean, minimising the risk of infection.
Staff demonstrated they had the skills and training needed to support people safely. Support plans were being updated to better reflect what people wanted to achieve. People were supported well to receive support from other health services such as GPs, dentists and opticians.
People told us they got on well and liked their staff team. When the usual support workers were not working other staff who knew the person well would be on duty. People were encouraged to be as independent as possible and people told us they had become more independent since moving in to the service.
People were supported to do things that were important to them and any cultural needs or choices were respected. People had good links with community and many people had been supported to find volunteer or part time work.
The management of the service had a clear vision of how they wanted the service to improve and at the time of our inspection a number of changes were being made. Staff spoke highly of the manager and told us they felt involved in the changes and that the changes were improving the service for the people using it.
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 applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 31 January 2017)
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.