22 March 2016
During a routine inspection
Excel Support Services Limited - South East offers a supported living service to people with learning and other difficulties which impact on their ability to live independently. The service assists people to live in their own homes with their own tenancies. It aims to support and encourage people to become as independent as possible, with only as much intervention from care staff as is necessary. The service, currently, supports 77 people in 51 premises.
The 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. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. There is a registered manager running the service.
The service fully understood how to keep people, staff and others safe and was exceptional in that it positively supported people to learn how to keep themselves safe. The provider had a number of very effective ways to ensure the general and individual safety of people, staff and others. People were protected by staff who had received the appropriate training and received training themselves so everyone knew how to recognise and deal with any form of abuse. Staff had been safely recruited and were suitable to provide people with safe care. People were supported, by well trained staff, to take their medicines safely. All significant risks were identified and managed to keep people and staff as safe as possible.
People’s rights were protected by staff who understood the Mental Capacity Act (2005). The Mental Capacity Act 2005 legislation provides a legal framework that sets out how to act to support people who do not have capacity to make a specific decision. Care staff understood the importance of gaining people’s consent and knew how to help them make decisions for themselves. People’s capacity to make decisions was recorded, if appropriate, and relevant paperwork was included in care plans.
People needs were met by a well-trained, committed staff team who were exceptional at equipping people to attain as much independence as possible. They very positively supported people to gain knowledge and communication skills so they could express themselves more fully and understand relevant issues. The service was very good at making people feel they were involved and at building their confidence. People’s diversity was recognised and they were treated with respect and dignity at all times.
People were supported to be part of the community and experienced a wide range of activities, including attending work and college.
The service was well managed by a registered manager and management team who were generally described as open and supportive, although this view was not held by all staff. The service had a number of ways to made sure that they continually monitored and assessed the quality of care they offered. Any shortfalls or improvements needed were identified and acted upon.