Archived: JRHT- Independent Living Services

Updated 13 October 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This comprehensive inspection took place on 3 and 6 September 2018. We gave the service two days’ notice of our visit to the office on 3 September 2018 because we needed to be sure someone would be available to assist us with the inspection and organise for us to visit people who used the service. We visited people in their own homes on 6 September 2018.

The inspection was carried out by two adult social care inspectors on the first day of the inspection and one adult social care inspector on the second day.

Before our inspection, we looked at information we held about the service. We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the information we held about the service, such as notifications we had received from the registered manager. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We sought feedback from the local authority contract monitoring team prior to our visit.

During the inspection we spoke with seven people who used the service in their own homes, and one relative. We visited three locations and observed care staff providing support and interacting with people. We spoke with the registered manager, a deputy manager, four care co-ordinators and three support workers. We looked at a range of documents and records related to people’s care and the management of the service. We viewed four people's care records, medication records, three staff recruitment, induction and training files and a selection of records used to monitor the quality of the service.

Updated 13 October 2018

JRHT – Independent Living Services provide care and support to people living in four ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live in their own homes 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. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting 20 people with a learning disability or physical disability.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

The care service had 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 a learning disability were supported to live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

There was a registered manager in post. People and staff spoke positively about the management and leadership of the service.

There were safe systems in place to ensure people received their medicines as prescribed. Risks to people were assessed and action taken to reduce them. Staff were aware of different types of abuse and the action they should take if they had any concerns. Safeguarding referrals had been made appropriately.

There were sufficient, suitably trained staff to meet people’s needs. Appropriate recruitment checks were undertaken before staff started their employment, to ensure they were suitable to work with vulnerable people. Staff received support and supervision to give them the skills and knowledge they needed to care for people effectively.

People received support with their nutritional needs and people were satisfied with the assistance they received to prepare meals. Where people were at risk in terms of their nutrition or hydration, staff monitored their food and fluid intake. Staff supported people to access a range of healthcare professionals where required, and people received an annual health check.

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.

People were treated with dignity and respect. Staff promoted people’s independence and supported them to be actively involved in the running of their own home and daily living tasks, such as cooking and cleaning. We observed caring interactions between staff and people who used the service. People’s diverse needs were catered for. Staff understood people's individual communication needs and made appropriate adjustments to aid effective communication.

There were regularly reviewed care plans in place, to give staff the information they needed to support people in line with their preferences and needs. People took part in a range of activities of their choosing in the community. The provider had a procedure in place for responding to any concerns and complaints. People told us they would feel comfortable reporting any concerns and were confident these would be addressed.

There was a quality assurance system in place to monitor the quality of the service provided. Feedback from staff indicated there was a positive, person-centred culture within the service.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.