Sefton Supported Living

Updated 5 March 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

This inspection was conducted by one inspector on both days of the inspection.

Service and service type:

Sefton Supported Living supports five people who have learning disabilities living in a supported living house. The service is registered to deliver personal care. In ‘supported living’ settings, people are tenants and can live in their own home and be supported to be as independent as possible.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). This means they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

We gave the service notice of the inspection visit because it is a small service and we needed to make sure that someone would be available. People in supported living are ‘tenants’ and CQC does not regulate private accommodation; we needed to ensure we had consent to visit.

The supported living house at Lincoln Road was visited on 4 February 2019 and we visited the providers offices the following day to see the registered manager and to review care records and other records relevant to the quality monitoring of the service.

What we did:

Our planning considered information the provider sent us since the last inspection. We also considered information about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as abuse or other concerns. We obtained information from the local authority commissioners and safeguarding team and other professionals who work with the service.

We assessed the information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection, we spoke with three people using the service and three family members to ask about their experience of care. We also spoke with the registered manager and three members of staff. We received feedback from a visiting professional.

We looked at two people’s care records and a selection of other records including quality monitoring records, training records, staff records and records of checks carried out on the premises and equipment.

Details are in the Key Questions below.

Updated 5 March 2019

About the service:

Sefton Supported Living supports five people who have learning disabilities living in a supported living house in Lincoln Road Southport. The service is registered to deliver personal care.

In ‘supported living’ settings, people are tenants and can live in their own home and be supported to be as independent as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. The Care Quality Commission [CQC] does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

For people who have a learning disability, the care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance for people with learning disabilities. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

People’s experience of using this service:

Relatives and people who were involved with the service were consistently positive about the caring attitude of the staff and the impact this had made on people. The ethos was that the supported living house was each person's home and the staff were there to support people to develop their independence and live their lives to the full. People's individuality and diversity was nurtured and people were treated with equal respect and warmth.

Staff showed a genuine motivation to deliver care in a person-centred way based on people’s preferences and likes. Staff treated people with kindness, compassion and respect and staff ensured that people’s dignity was maintained always. People clearly enjoyed living at Lincoln Road and spoke positively about the care and support they received. Feedback from relatives and professional visitors was consistently positive.

We found that people received care in a safe way. Individual risks to people and the environment had been identified and assessed and measures put in place to manage them and minimise the risk of avoidable harm occurring. Staff showed a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities for keeping people safe from harm. Medicines were managed safely by trained staff who ensured that people received medicines at the right time.

There were enough staff to meet people’s individual needs. Staff had received training and support to enable them to carry out their role safely. We saw that people received the right care and support from staff who were trained and competent at what they did.

People’s needs and choices were assessed and planned for. Care plans identified intended outcomes for people and how they were to be met in a way they preferred. People received support with eating and drinking to help them maintain good health; their healthcare needs were fully understood and met.

People were offered choice and control over the care they received. There was good attention paid to ensuring people’s rights under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were respected.

Care was delivered in a personalised way which was in which was in line with information recorded in people's care plans. People and family members knew how to raise concerns. There were easy read formats available to make sure people could understand information and staff took time to ensure people could raise any worries or concerns. Staff understood how people communicated their worries and concerns.

The leadership of the service promoted a person-centred care and a positive culture within the staff team. People, family members and staff all described the registered manager as supportive and approachable. The registered manager showed a continued desire to improve on the service and displayed a good knowledge and understanding around the importance of working closely with other agencies and healthcare professionals where needed. Effective systems were in place to check on the quality and safety of the service and improvements were made when required.

Rating at last inspection:

This service had previously been inspected in July 2016 and rated as good. The report was published on 19 August 2016.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned comprehensive inspection. There were no previous concerns about the service.