Creative Support - Jarrow Service

Updated 31 March 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 1 inspector and 1 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 6 ‘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 was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection because some of the people using it could not consent to a home visit from an inspector. This meant that we had to arrange for a ‘best interests’ decision about this.

Inspection activity started on 15 March 2023 and ended on 22 March 2023. We visited the location’s office on 15 March 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work 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 annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During the inspection we communicated with 2 people who used the service and 4 relatives about their experience of the care provided. Not everyone who used the service communicated verbally or wished to speak, therefore they gave us permission to speak with their relatives on the telephone. We spoke with 9 members of staff including the registered manager, project manager, service manager and 6 support workers.

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people’s care records and 3 medicines records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including training information and policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 31 March 2023

About the service

Creative Support Jarrow is a supported living service providing personal care to people in their own homes. The service provides support to younger adults with a learning disability or autism spectrum disorder. At the time of our inspection there were 6 people using the service.

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.

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

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

Right Support

Systems were in place to ensure the right support was being provided that ensured people’s human rights were respected and their opinions were listened to and valued.

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.

There were sufficient staff to support people safely. Where there were staff vacancies the provider had a contingency plan in place to ensure people were safely and effectively supported, with minimum disruption to their lives.

Staff followed the provider’s ethos to provide person-centred care that enabled individuals to develop skills and behaviours to live more independent lives. A relative commented, “[Name] has really settled, they love it.”

People were provided with a variety of opportunities to be part of the community, to make choices and fulfil their aspirations. A person told us, “I’ve been on holiday.” A relative commented, “[Name] goes out all the time, bowling, to the park and meals out.”

Right Care

People were supported over a 24-hour period in their own homes. Care was person-centred and promoted people’s dignity, privacy and human rights. A person commented, “I like living here, this is my home.”

Most relatives were complimentary about the care provided by staff. They said staff were kind, caring and supportive of people and their families. A relative told us, "Staff have hearts of gold, they are so patient."

Staff had received safeguarding training and were clear on how and when to raise their concerns. Where appropriate, actions were taken to keep people safe. Staff followed effective processes to assess and provide the support people needed to take their medicines safely.

Right Culture

The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the managers and care staff ensured people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives.

There was a positive atmosphere at the service. Staff spoke very positively about working at the service and the people they cared for. Staff said the management team were very approachable and they were supported in their role.

Relatives were involved in decision making about their relative’s care, but some commented there could be improvements to communication from some households to keep them up-to-date about any changes in their relative’s needs.

A governance system was in place to monitor the quality of the service through audits and feedback received from people, their relatives, staff and external agencies. Processes were in place to manage and respond to complaints and concerns.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was good (published 20 December 2017).

Why we inspected

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

Recommendations

We have made a recommendation that records should provide more detailed guidance for staff, so people receive care that helps them fulfil their potential and achieve their wishes, with a more regular system of evaluation and review to monitor people’s well-being.

Follow up

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