Updated 9 November 2022
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 one inspector.
Service and service type
This service provides care and support to people living in six '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 two registered managers in post.
Notice of inspection
We gave a short period of notice for the inspection. This was to ensure the registered manager was available to support the inspection and to ensure we had prior information to promote safety due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Inspection activity started on 11 October 2022 and ended on 14 October 2022.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was registered. This included notifications sent to us by the service. Notifications are changes, events or incidents that the provider is legally obliged to send to us without delay. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We visited four people in their homes to speak to them and look at medicines. We spoke with the two registered managers, the director and two support workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included one person’s care records and medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment, training and support. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at auditing and governance information, medicine records, accident and incident data, and infection control information.