4EDEN

Updated 12 December 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 was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in five ‘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 registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service short notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or manager would be in the office to support the inspection. We also needed information to help carry out parts of the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 7 November 2019 and ended on 15 November 2019. We visited the office location on both these dates.

What we did before 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. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided and visited one person in their own home. We also spoke to two people at their place of work and two people at a day service. We spoke with nine members of staff including the director, registered manager, care coordinator and three care workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included: five people’s care and medication records, four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision, and records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We spoke with two professionals who regularly visit the service.

Updated 12 December 2019

About the service

Eden Mencap Society is a domiciliary care agency. The service provides care and support to people living in five ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live in their own home as independently as possible. Two people were also given support who were living in their own homes in the community. People’s care and housing were 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 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

Since the last inspection the service had made improvements in a number of areas. These included: strengthening systems to protect people from harm and abuse; ensuring staff had a good working knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act 2005; and making sure checks on how service runs were more robust.

People were very happy with the support from Eden Mencap Society. They told us staff helped them to lead interesting lives of their choosing.

People felt safe and were protected from the risk of harm. People were supported to manage their medicines safely. Staff completed medication training and had their competency checked. There were sufficient numbers of staff who were safely recruited. Staff supported people to be independent whilst also managing risks. 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.

Care plans were person-centred and contained information about people’s life history and their preferences. Staff were knowledgeable of people’s care needs and the actions needed to reduce risks to people. They received training, supervision and appraisal to equip them for their role. People were supported by staff to access healthcare services. Staff provided good examples of occasions when they recognised a deterioration in people’s health and had taken action.

Everyone told us staff were kind, caring and considerate and staff went to great lengths to help them live their lives to the full. They were supported by staff who met their equality, diversity and human rights. People’s communication needs were recorded in care plans and they had numerous ways to engage in the running of the service.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensured people who used the service lived as full a life as possible and achieved the best possible outcomes that included control, choice and independence. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent. People were supported to be active citizens and to fully engage in the local community. This included part-time and full-time work.

The management of the service had been strengthened by the recruitment of a second registered manager to the senior team. The senior team had developed more robust systems for checking the quality and safety of the service and they had strengthened links with the organisation’s trustees.

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 requires improvement (published 17 September 2018) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

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.