Southdown Court

Updated 10 December 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

This inspection was carried out by 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 a short notice period of the inspection. This was because the service is small and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to meet with us.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. 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 reviewed people’s support plans, positive behaviour support (PBS) plans and risk assessments. We also spoke with a health professional about the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spent periods of time with people who used the service and where possible, viewed people’s homes. People were not able to speak with us about the care provided so we spoke to people’s loved ones and observed. We spent time speaking to staff, this included the registered manager, both deputy managers, a senior support worker and a support worker. We reviewed a range of records relating to accidents and incidents and multiple medication records.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We spoke with four people’s relatives and three health and social care professionals about the support provided. We also spoke with three further members of staff.

Updated 10 December 2021

About the service

Southdown Court is a supported living service providing personal care for people with learning disabilities or autistic people. At the time of the inspection, there were four people receiving support with personal care in their own flats. The service had been set up specifically to support people who due to the way they expressed their emotions, may not be happy to live in a traditional supported living or care home setting.

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

There were safe systems in place to support people. Where people's individual needs required staff support to keep them safe, these had been risk assessed and staff were knowledgeable about how to protect people. People who could express their emotions physically had clear plans in place to explain how they should be supported to reduce their anxiety. One person's relative told us, "Staff are always optimistic, and always look for the positives if [person] is having a bad day." There were enough staff and staff were recruited safely. Infection control processes minimised the risk of catching and spreading infection. Medicines were managed safely.

People's support was personalised and individual to each person. Staff received a thorough induction and the registered manager ensured staff knew people well before supporting them. Staff received training that reflected the needs of the people using the service. Staff felt very supported by the management team. Staff worked with health and social care professionals to ensure that people received appropriate care and support. People were offered choices by staff in ways that were personal to them, and staff respected people's choices.

Staff were kind, caring and considered the whole person, their unique personalities, preferences and support needs. People's privacy, dignity and independence were promoted. Staff involved people and those that were important to the person in decisions around the person's care. One relative told us, "I have a say on the issues that are important to [person], they always consult me."

People's support plans were detailed and informed staff of how each person viewed and responded to the world around them. Staff were knowledgeable about people's communication needs and able to support people to improve their communication skills to aid understanding. People were supported to do things they wanted such as going out to the shops. Where people had unique hobbies, these were understood by staff who empowered people to continue with what made them happy.

The leadership team fostered an open and honest culture which people and staff found supportive. Staff worked in partnership with people to help them to achieve their goals and increase their independence. Staff and relatives were positive about the management of the service. Quality assurance processes were effective in identifying any issues or concerns. Staff worked in constant partnership with people's relatives and health and social care professionals involved in each person's support.

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.

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. People were supported to have their flats arranged to meet their sensory needs. For one person who received sensory fulfilment from having contact with their environment, they had been supported to move into a specially designed re-enforced environment to ensure that this person's sensory need could be met safely. Each person's flat was different and reflected the individual person's personality and sensory needs.

Right care:

• Care is person-centred and promotes people’s dignity, privacy and human rights. The support people received from staff was unique to each person and staff knew how to meet people's health and wellbeing needs. Activities people were supported to do were tailored for each person's individual sensory needs. Relatives told us, "[Person's] activities have been risk assessed to make sure they are safe for them. They adjust [person's] activities to how they are feeling at the time." Staff knew each person's individual communication methods and supported people to expand their knowledge to help others to understand them and to better express themselves. People were supported to have their own privacy and independence, one person's relative told us, "[Person] has their own autonomy there, really enjoys their own space."

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 kind and caring and staff highly valued the people they supported. Staff knew people's individual needs and supported people to live empowered lives. Staff saw what each person was able to achieve and worked with people, their families and health professionals to build on their existing knowledge and skills.

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

This service was registered with us on 25 November 2019 and this is the first inspection. Previously this was one of many supported living sites that the provider had registered under one supported living location. The provider has now registered each site as a separate location.

Why we inspected

This was the first planned inspection for this service.

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.