Sefton Supported Living

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.

At the time of the inspection Sefton Supported Living provided personal care and support for five adults with disabilities who each held a tenancy in the same house. The service is managed from an office in the Formby area of Merseyside. Management responsibilities had recently transferred from another location managed by the Frances Taylor Foundation.

A registered manager was in post. 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.

The people that we spoke with had no concerns about the safety of services and we saw that staff were vigilant in maintaining people’s safety. The service assessed risk appropriately and reviewed risk following incidents. Incidents and accidents were recorded electronically and subject to a formal review process which included an analysis that was shared with senior managers.

The provider had delivered a training programme for staff regarding adult safeguarding and had a clear policy in place. The staff that we spoke with confirmed that they had attended the training and were able to explain the different types of abuse and what action they would take if they were concerned that abuse or neglect were taking place.

Staff were recruited following a process which included individual interviews and shadow shifts. Each offer of employment was made subject to the receipt of two satisfactory references and the completion of appropriate checks. Staffing levels were assessed according to individual need. None of the people that we spoke with said that staffing levels had ever been a concern.

Staff were trained in the administration of medicines. Medicines were stored and administered safely. Medication Administration Record (MAR) sheets were completed by staff. The records that we saw had been completed and showed no errors or omissions.

Staff had been recruited and trained to ensure that they had the rights skills and experience to meet people’s needs. Staff were supported by the organisation through regular supervision and appraisal.

The service was operating in accordance with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People’s consent to care was recorded on their care files.

People’s day to day health needs were met by the service in collaboration with families and healthcare professionals. Staff supported people at healthcare appointments and used information to update support plans.

We had limited opportunities to observe staff providing support during the inspection. Where we did observe support we saw that staff demonstrated care, kindness and warmth in their interactions with people. People told us that they very were happy with the care and support provided. It was clear that the provision of care and support were not task-led and were individualised to meet the needs of each person.

Staff understanding of people’s needs was enhanced by the way in which people’s needs were assessed and recorded. The service used a range of methods to capture and record important information about people’s histories, likes, dislikes and aspirations. Some of the processes and documentation were in the early stages of development, but made good use of person-centred language and approaches to present a positive impression of each person and set clear goals and objectives.

Family members told us that they were free to visit their relatives at any time and were always made to feel welcome by the staff. We saw from care records and person-centred plans (PCP’s) that people and their families were regularly involved in the assessment and review of care and support. Family members were clear about reporting concerns or complaints although no formal complaints had been submitted recently.

Before the service started the provider collected information from health and social care professionals and completed their own detailed assessment of care and support needs. The provider made use of person-centred planning techniques to maximise the involvement of people in the planning process. We saw that PCP’s were produced to a very high standard with words and pictures used well to aid understanding. The plans had been further personalised by the use of different fonts, photographs and colours to reflect people’s preferences.

The service had clearly been developed and was continuing to develop with input from people, their families and staff. Staff told us that they were kept well-informed of any issues and proposals in relation to the service. Open communication was encouraged at all levels. We saw evidence of regular communication with people using the service, staff and other services.

The staff that we spoke with were motivated to provide high quality care and understood what was expected of them. They spoke with enthusiasm about the people that they supported and their job roles.

The registered manager was available to members of the staff team throughout the inspection and offered guidance and support appropriately. We saw that staff had been briefed regarding the inspection process and that important staff guidance made reference to regulations.

The registered manager had clear systems and resources available to them to monitor quality, drive improvement and manage the business. The provider had an extensive set of policies and procedures to guide staff conduct and help measure performance. These were available to staff in both hard-copy and electronic formats.

The registered manager was knowledgeable about their role and the organisation. They were able to provide evidence to support the inspection process in a timely manner and facilitated meetings with people who use the service , family members and staff. They spoke with enthusiasm about working for the organisation and said that they were well supported by senior managers.