Alinora Crescent

Updated 30 October 2021

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

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in a ‘supported living’ setting, 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. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about 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 one person who used the service because other people were busy or not able to speak with us due to their needs. We observed staff supporting people throughout the day and we spoke with four relatives by telephone about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager and four care workers.. We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and medication records. We looked at four staff files 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 30 October 2021

About the service

Alinora Crescent is a supported living service providing personal care and support for people with a learning disability and /or autistic people. At the time of the inspection the service was provided to seven people. The accommodation was divided between two adjoined buildings, one with three self-contained flats the other was shared accommodation for four people.

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

People were living full and busy lives and staff supported them in a personalised way. Relatives described how people were happy, settled and enjoyed activities that were meaningful for them. Our observations throughout the inspection confirmed this. One relative said, “They are having a good quality of life there.”

Risks to people were assessed and managed effectively. Systems to safeguard people from abuse and avoidable harm were effective and staff demonstrated a clear understanding of their responsibilities. There were enough staff to care for people safely and staff had received the training and support they needed to care for people’s diverse needs. People appeared to be relaxed and happy in the company of the staff and their relatives told us they felt people were safe. One relative said, “I think the staff are doing their very best for all the people there. I have no concerns at all.” Another relative told us, “It’s a good place, it feels very safe there.”

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of right support, right care, right culture.

Right support:

• Model of care and setting maximises people’s choice, control and independence

Staff were focussed on supporting people to be as independent as possible. People were supported to communicate their views and to make choices and have control in their daily lives.

Right care:

• Care is person-centred and promotes people’s dignity, privacy and human Rights

Staff knew people well and understood their needs. Care was well personalised. Relatives spoke highly of the staff and described how people were supported to maintain relationships that were important to them. People had developed positive and trusting relationships with staff.

Right culture:

• Ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives

The culture of the service was open and inclusive. Staff were motivated and positive in their view of the service and described being well supported and having access to relevant training. Relatives told us their views were welcomed and considered. People were supported to have access to the local community and to follow their interests.

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. A relative told us how previous restrictions for one person were no longer needed, saying, “They are much calmer now because they are in the right place, staff understand them so well. “

Staff worked in partnership with health care professionals to support people’s care and minimise restrictions on their rights. Over time, one person’s medicine had been reduced and staff explained the positive impact this had for the person. Their relative told us, “They are more relaxed now, it’s been a really good outcome.”

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

Why we inspected

This service was registered with us on 25 November 2019 and this is the first inspection.

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.