Carlisle Community Services

Updated 1 September 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 team consisted of 1 inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in a number of ‘supported living’ settings, so 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 the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 11 May 2023 and ended on 23 June 2023. We visited the location’s office on 12 May 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We reviewed information we received from the local authority, professionals who work with the service and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used 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

We spoke with 2 relatives to gather feedback on the care and safety of the service.

We spoke to the registered manager and 2 care staff. We reviewed a range of records. This included 1 person's care records, medication records, maintenance and safety checks. We looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including recruitment records for 1 staff, supervision records and quality assurance procedures.

Updated 1 September 2023

Carlisle Community Services provides care and support to people with mental health needs living in 'supported living' settings, so they can live in their own home 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. At the time of our inspection there was 1 person using the service.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

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

The provider had made improvements to the way the service was managed. There were governance and quality assurance systems in place. Audits were up to date and identified any lessons learnt following incidents and accidents so that action could be taken to keep people safe. There were enough staff to meet their needs.

Relatives told us they felt their family member was safe and staff understood the importance of following procedures to ensure safety and quality care. They told us the registered manager was very effective with communicating with them and they felt confident about raising any concerns.

Relatives told us they knew the staff and manager well. They received regular communications and were involved in care planning. They told us their family member was supported by a regular care team who knew their family member well.

Relatives told us staff supported their family member with medications correctly and safely and they were able to understand the person’s needs, for example, when they were in pain.

Relatives told us their family member was well supported with food and drinks, and staff understood the importance of hydration and a balanced diet.

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.

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 good overall (published 8 September 2018).

At our last inspection we recommended the service ensured a schedule of supervisions and appraisals was put in place. At this inspection we found the service had improved their provision of supervision of staff and this was taking place on a regular basis.

Why we inspected

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

Recommendations

We made a recommendation around the provider’s monitoring of medicines records. At the time of inspection, best practice guidance was not followed, and this was not identified by the provider. The provider took action to amend practices when this was highlighted on inspection.

Follow up

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