Real Life Options - Newcastle and Durham

Updated 22 July 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of one inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in a number of ‘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.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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 our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave a short period notice of the inspection because we were completing some parts remotely and we also needed consent from people and relatives to allow us to contact them.

Inspection activity started on 14 April 2022 and ended on 17 June 2022. We visited the location’s office on 14 April 2022 and attended a community event on 27 May 22.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We used information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 27 October 2021 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We requested and reviewed care records, training and medicines records remotely. We visited the office and spoke to the registered manager and deputy manager. We attended a community event to observe staff interactions with people, and to speak with people. We spoke to three people who use the service and four relatives of people who use the service. We spoke to three support workers in person and contacted one via email.

Updated 22 July 2022

About the service

Real Life Options Newcastle and Durham is a supported living service. At the time of our inspection there were 26 people using the service. Support was provided in flats, houses and bungalows. Some people shared houses and some lived alone.

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.

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

People and their relatives spoke positively about the care they received. Care plans were detailed and included risks assessments. Medicines were managed safely. People were safeguarded from abuse. Effective infection prevention and control systems were in place.

Care was personalised and responsive to people's needs. 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.

Staff received regular training, supervision and appraisal. Staff worked with external professionals to ensure people received the support they needed.

The registered manager and provider had effective governance systems in place. Feedback was regularly sought and acted on. Lessons were learnt and shared with staff.

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. The service maximised people’s choice and control over their lives and supported them to increase their independence. Care was person-centred, people said staff treated them with dignity and knew them well. The service’s culture was person-centred with additional training in person-centred care and themed supervisions. People were involved in recruitment of staff and the running of the service.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 8 November 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by the length of time the service had been registered.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.