Prospect House

Updated 26 August 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 five ‘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.

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.

Inspection activity started on 17 July 2021 with a visit to the office and one supported living setting and ended on 5 August 2021.

What we did before the 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

People receiving personal care were non-verbal, therefore we did not speak to any people who used the service. We visited one supported living scheme and observed interactions between people and staff. We spoke with eight members of staff including the nominated individual, company director, registered manager, quality assurance manager and four support workers. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at five 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.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We received feedback from two professionals who have recently worked with the service. We also spoke with two relatives by telephone.

Updated 26 August 2021

About the service

Prospect House (MidCo Care Ltd) is a supported living service providing personal care to six adults over the age of 18 across five houses and flats in the Barnet area.

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 received good care from kind and caring staff. People and staff had developed positive relationships which meant they interacted well. Staff treated people with dignity and respect.

Staffing levels were enough to enable people to receive personalised care. Staff were safely recruited. People received their medicines on time and staff followed good infection prevention and control procedures to prevent infection.

People's needs were assessed to identify the care they required and their families and professionals were involved in the assessments. Staff received good support and the training they needed. Staff supported people to have enough to eat and drink and to access health care services.

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.

The provider had a structured approach to quality assurance which was used to improve the service. The provider had a positive working relationship with health and social care professionals which resulted in positive outcomes for people.

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 prioritised people's needs, and staff supported them to make choices and promote their independence. People received personalised care and were treated with dignity and respect.

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 April 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was the first inspection for the 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.