FitzRoy Supported Living - Hodge Hill

Updated 25 April 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

One adult social care inspector carried out this inspection.

Service and service type:

This service provides care and support to people living in seven 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.

At the time of the inspection the registered manager was based at another location. There was an acting service manager in post.

Notice of inspection:

We gave the service three days’ notice of the inspection site visit because we needed to be sure someone would be there to assist us with the inspection process.

What we did:

Before our inspection, we checked the information we held about FitzRoy Supported Living - Hodge Hill. This included notifications the registered manager sent us about incidents that affect the health, safety and welfare of people who received support. We contacted the commissioning, safeguarding and contracts departments at Birmingham County Council. This helped us to gain a balanced overview of what people experienced when they received support from FitzRoy Supported Living - Hodge Hill. We also contacted Healthwatch Birmingham. Healthwatch is the local consumer champion for health and social care services. They give consumers a voice by collecting their views, concerns and compliments through their engagement work. All the information gathered before our inspection went into completing a planning document that guides the inspection. The planning document allows key lines of enquiry to be investigated focusing on any current concerns, areas of risk and good or outstanding practice.

During this inspection, we visited three flats and met six people who received support. We spoke with the acting service manager, one relative, two senior carers and four carers. During our visit training was taking place. We joined the training event and reviewed the information being delivered. We spoke with 11 staff members and the trainer. We looked at the support records of five people, recruitment and training records of five staff members, and records relating to the administration of medicines and the management of the service. We looked at what quality audit tools and data management systems the acting service manager used.

We used all the information gathered to inform our judgements about the fundamental standards of quality and safety of the service delivered by FitzRoy Supported Living - Hodge Hill.

Updated 25 April 2019

FitzRoy Supported Living - Hodge Hill provides a supported living service to people with learning difficulties within their own homes so they can live as independently as possible. At the time of the inspection the service was providing personal care to 20 people who were living in their own homes within seven separate 'supported living' facilities all within proximity to each other.

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. 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:

The service people received was flexible and supported people with limited communication to lead unique and valued lives that incorporated their preferences and met their needs. Staff knew people well and could tell us how they managed risk and behaviours that challenge that respected the person and supported their dignity.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff told us they had appropriate training, knowledge and support to keep people safe. Observations showed people were comfortable in the company of staff.

People and their relatives we spoke with felt confident in the management. They told us there was a caring culture within the service and staffing levels were appropriate.

It was clear staff morale was good and everyone was committed to ensuring people received care and support based on their preferences and life choices. The acting service manager told us the low staff turnover allowed positive relationships to be built with people receiving support and strong teamwork to develop.

People and their relatives were involved in the development of support plans. These were regularly reviewed to reflect people’s current needs. The management of risk was included within the support plan to minimise the likelihood of preventable harm occurring.

Staff files we looked at evidenced the acting service manager used the same safe recruitment procedures we found at our last inspection. Staff told us training was ongoing and they were supported to gain vocational qualifications in health and social care.

There was a complaints procedure which was made available to people and their family. People we spoke with told us they were happy with the support they received. The service continued to have good oversight of relevant procedures through monitoring and auditing to ensure people received effective support and the service was well led.

The acting service manager used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. We noted activities were provided as part of the support people received. Staff told us they supported people to activities that enhanced their physical and mental wellbeing.

The service engaged with outside agencies to ensure people received timely healthcare support. The management team engaged with other agencies to gain updates on legislation, best practice and learn from other providers experiences.

More information in the full report.

Rating at last inspection:

Good (Report published 27 April 2016)

Why we inspected:

This was a planned comprehensive inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme or if any issues or concerns are identified.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk