Archived: Islington Council Supported Living Service for Adults with Learning Disabilities

Updated 13 January 2017

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

The provider was given short notice of this inspection because the location provides a domiciliary care service. We carried out two visits to the service on 14 and 18 November 20016. This inspection was carried out by a single inspector.

We looked at any notifications that we had received and communications we had received from staff and other professionals.

During our inspection we spoke with one person using the service, observed care staff working with two people, spoke with five staff working across the service in different positions, the head of service and the manager of the service. We also received written feedback from a community nurse who visited clients using the service.

We gathered evidence of people’s experiences of the service either through conversations we had with people and by reviewing other communication that the service had with these people, their families and other care professionals.

As part of this inspection we reviewed three people’s care plans and care records. We looked at the induction, training and supervision records for the staff team. We reviewed other records such as complaints information and quality monitoring and audit information.

Updated 13 January 2017

Islington Council Supported Living Service for Adults with Learning Disabilities provides supported living for up to nine people at three sites. There were eight people using the service at the time of this inspection.

This inspection was short notice which meant the provider and staff did not know we were coming until shortly before we visited the service. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a community based care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be available to speak with us This service had not previously been inspected.

At the time of our inspection, the provider employed a manager who was in the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider.

From the discussions we had with people using the service, staff and other stakeholders we found that people were usually very satisfied with the way the service supported people. There was confidence about contacting staff at the service to discuss anything they wished to and staff were thought to be knowledgeable and skilled.

People’s human rights were protected and the service was diligent with ensuring that the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) were complied with. Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) was not applicable for anyone using the service.

During our review of care plans we found that these were tailored to people’s unique and individual needs. Communication, methods of providing care and support were all explained and the appropriate guidance for each person’s needs were in place and were regularly reviewed, including risk assessments.

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We looked at the training records of staff at the three shared living projects. We saw that in all cases mandatory training had been undertaken and the type of specialised training they required was tailored to the needs of the people they were supporting. We found that staff appraisals were happening yearly and staff had development objectives were set arising from the appraisal system.

We found that staff respected people’s privacy and dignity and worked in ways that demonstrated this. From the conversations we had with people, our observations and records we looked at, we found that people’s preferences had been recorded and that staff worked well to ensure these preferences were respected.

Records we viewed showed that people were able to complain and felt confident to do so if needed. People could therefore feel confident that any concerns they had would be listened to.

People who used the service, relatives, staff and stakeholders had a range of opportunities to provide their views about the quality of the service. We found that the provider took this process seriously and people were listened to.

As a result of this inspection we found the service was meeting all of the regulations we looked at.