The Butterflies

Updated 3 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

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

The Butterflies is a supported living service which provides care and support to people living in one domestic property 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 CQC. The registered manager 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 24 hours’ notice of the inspection because infection prevention and control arrangements had to be agreed with the provider and put in place prior to our visit; this helped to mitigate the risk of any cross contamination or transmission of Covid-19.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service and sought feedback from the local authority who work with the service. The provider was asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager, four members of staff, occupational therapist, a volunteering service that collaborated with The Butterflies, two people who were receiving support and two relatives about their experiences of care provided to their loved ones.

We reviewed a range of records. Records included two people’s care records, medication administration records and three staff personnel files in relation to recruitment. We also reviewed a variety of records relating to the management and governance of the service, including policies and procedures.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at audit and governance data, as well as infection prevention and control policies and procedures.

Updated 3 December 2021

About the service

The Butterflies is a supported living service providing personal care to people living in their own homes. The service supports young adults who have a learning disability and autistic people. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting two people.

Two younger adults lived in one residential property which was in keeping with other neighbouring properties; they had access to local amenities and transport.

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

People received personalised care that was tailored around their wants, needs, preferences and aspirations. Staff were familiar with people’s support needs and how to keep them safe.

Care reviews regularly took place. Records contained the most up to date and relevant information and people received care and support by a dedicated team of staff who demonstrated kindness, compassion and respect.

Safeguarding and whistleblowing systems and processes were in place; staff received the appropriate safeguarding training and knew when and how to report any concerns. One relative told us, “It’s absolutely superb, I’ve got reassurances that [person] is in the best place". People receiving support told us they felt safe and that staff supported them as much as possible.

People were supported to remain as independent as possible; staff supported people to manage their own medication in a safe and effective manner.

Staffing levels were closely monitored, safe recruitment procedures were in place and staff felt thoroughly supported. Training for staff was up to date and they were encouraged to enhance and develop their skills and knowledge through additional training.

Safe and effective infection prevention and control procedures (IPC) were in place. Staff wore the appropriate PPE as a measure of reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission and all staff were engaged in COVID-19 testing.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their own lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems 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 The Care Quality Commission (CQC) to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The Butterflies demonstrated how they were meeting the principles of ‘Right support, right care, right culture’. The model of care and setting helped to maximise people’s choice, control and Independence. Person-centred care helped promote people’s dignity, privacy and human rights and the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensured that people using the service were independent, confident and lived enriched lives.

Overall governance and quality assurance measures had been successfully embedded. The quality and safety of care was routinely monitored, assessed and improved upon when needed.

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 13 April 2020 and this was their first inspection

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection following their registration with CQC.

Follow up

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