Renai Support Services provides personal care and support to people living in supported living in Torquay and East Devon. Supported living is defined as situations where people live in their own home and receive care and/or support which helps to promote their independence. At the time of our inspection, personal care and support was being provided to four people living in one house in Torquay. The personal care provided to people was 24-hour support with a set number of hours per week allocated as one-to-one care.Renai Support Services also provides enablement support to other people living in the same house and elsewhere. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is only authorised to inspect the personal care services provided. The inspection therefore did not look at the care provided to people who received enablement.
Rating at last inspection
At our last inspection we rated the service as Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.
Why the service is rated Good
People were supported by caring staff who understood the care each person required to ensure they were kept safe. People’s care needs had been assessed when they first received care from Renai staff; care plans were reviewed regularly and involved the person and their family. Where risks, needs or preferences changed, care plans were amended to ensure the care was still safe and maintained people’s quality of life.
Staff showed genuine care and compassion when working with people. People and their families were very positive about the care provided. Staff supported people to be as independent as possible by doing activities both inside and outside the home. Staff also supported people’s rights to privacy, dignity and family life. Staff worked within the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
There were sufficient staff to help people receive care in a relaxed and calming environment. Staff spent time understanding and delivering care to people, some of whom were not able to communicate verbally. Staff were able to describe, and demonstrate, how they used a variety of communication methods which were tailored to each person’s requirements.
People were helped to stay healthy and well. Staff supported people to have a healthy diet and ensured, where necessary, health professionals were consulted and involved in the person’s care.
Staff were recruited and trained to ensure the care provided was safe. Training included how to support people with specific conditions such as epilepsy. Staff were also supervised and supported by the registered manager.
Medicines were received, stored, administered and recorded following national good guidance and practice.
The registered manager was also a director of the provider organisation. They understood their role and worked with people, family and staff to consider and implement improvements to the service. This included considering lessons that could be learned when things went wrong. There was a complaints policy and procedure which supported people and their families to raise concerns. The service had met the requirements of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 by submitting information when requested to the Care Quality Commission and displaying their last inspection rating.