Aspirations Kent

Updated 28 August 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. 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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was completed by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in six ‘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.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection because we needed to arrange to visit some people in their own homes.

Inspection activity started on 22 July 2019 and ended on 23 July 2019. We visited the office location on 23 July 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager, two deputy managers, and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care and medication records. We looked at one staff file in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 28 August 2019

About the service

Aspirations Kent is a supported living service for people with a learning disability. People lived in houses and shared a house and amenities such as kitchens, bathrooms and lounges. People received care and support to help them live independently in the community. There were 9 people using the service at the time of our inspection.

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.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

The provider had oversight of the service. The registered manager completed regular checks on the quality of care people received. People and staff were asked for their views, which were listened to and acted on to improve the service each person received. Records of people’s care were accurate and complete.

The registered manager understood their legal responsibilities and had shared information with us and others when they needed to.

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. People were involved in making decisions about their lives and were working towards achieving their goals.

People were protected from the risks of harm and abuse and any concerns they or staff had were listened to and acted on to keep people safe. People were treated with dignity and respect and their lifestyle and equality needs and choices were understood and respected. People had privacy.

Risks to people had been assessed. People were supported to be independent, understand risks and take them when they wanted to. Staff supported people to remain healthy and gave them advice about healthy eating. People’s medicines were managed safely. People were protected from the risk of infection.

People had planned their support with staff and were encouraged and supported to set and achieve goals to be as independent as possible. People took part in a range of activities and cooked and cleaned for themselves. Plans were in place to support people to share their end of life preferences.

There were enough staff working at the service to support people. Staff were there when people needed them and gave them the support they wanted. Staff had the skills they needed to support people and were supported by the management team. Staff were recruited safely.

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

Rating at last inspection (and update)

The last rating for this service was Good (published 16 September 2016).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.