eLIVEate Care and Support

Updated 8 January 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in four 'supported living' settings (all of which accommodate one person), 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

This inspection was announced. We announced the inspection a few days in advance to ensure that people would give us permission to visit them in their home. Before we visited one of the supported living settings, we discussed infection control processes for people, staff and inspectors, with reference to COVID-19.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We had contacted relatives, health and social care professionals and staff before the inspection to seek their views. We received feedback from three relatives, three health and social care professionals and nine staff.

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 of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We met with one person in their supported living setting and two staff who were supporting them. We met with the registered manager and the managing director at the service's office.

We reviewed three people's care records. We looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies, procedures and staff training and recruitment records.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We reviewed the additional documentation we had requested from the registered manager.

Updated 8 January 2022

About the service

eLIVEate Care and Support is a supported living service. It provides personal care to people living in a 'supported living' setting, so they can live as independently as possible.

People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual arrangements. The CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people's care and support.

At the time of this inspection the service was providing care and support to four people, who all lived in their own separate supported living setting, in the Plymouth and surrounding areas.

The service also provided an ‘enabling’ service to people living in their own homes. At the time of this inspection people using this service did not receive a regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people who are provided with the regulated activity of 'personal care', for example which includes help with tasks such as personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also take into account any wider social care provided.

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

The service had been operating since July 2020. People, relatives and health and social care professionals were all positive about how the service supported people to 'transition' to their new homes.

People had settled into their new homes and each person had a team of regular staff. Staff knew people well and had built trusting and caring relationships with them. Staff involved relatives in people’s care and support and valued their input and knowledge of the person. Comments from relatives included, “[Person] gets on well with all members of his team. It is essential that my son has a good, trusting relationship with his team of support, so having a regular team really helps not only my son but also me. I know the team so we can share knowledge and tips around supporting my son" and “eLIVEate have arranged, as far as possible, that [person] has the benefit of a regular team of carers. Furthermore, we have access to an App that allows us to view care arrangements in advance. We have regular contact with senior staff allowing discussion and planning going forward.”

Staff's in-depth knowledge of how people communicated ensured people had maximum control over their lives and how they spent their time. Staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Care and behaviour support plans were accurate and kept under regular review, with the involvement of the person and their family. They provided staff with comprehensive guidance to ensure people's needs were met. Risks were identified and staff had clear instructions to help them support people to reduce the risk of avoidable harm.

Staff were recruited safely. Staff were supported by a system of induction, training, supervisions, appraisals and staff meetings. Staff were appropriately trained, and their competency regularly checked, to ensure people's individual needs were met.

Cleaning and infection control procedures had been updated in line with COVID-19 guidance to help protect people, visitors and staff from the risk of infection. Government guidance about COVID-19 testing for people, staff and visitors was being followed.

People's relatives and staff told us management were approachable and they listened to them when they had any concerns or ideas. All feedback was used to make continuous improvements to the service.

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.

This service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

The Right support:

The model of care and setting maximised people’s choice, control and independence. Staff supported people to make choices about their daily lives and engage in activities that they enjoyed and promoted their independence. People were supported to maintain and develop relationships.

There were enough staff on duty to meet people’s individual needs. People received their medicines in a safe way. People were protected from abuse and neglect. People's care plans and risk assessments were clear and up to date.

Right care:

People received good quality person-centred care that promoted their dignity, privacy and human rights. There was a strong person-centred culture within the staff team. Positive behaviour support plans had been developed for people, to understand the reasons for their behaviour, and provide guidance for staff to ensure consistent approaches were used when supporting people.

Staff knew people well and demonstrated an understanding of people's individual care, behavioural and communication needs. This helped ensure people's views were heard and their diverse needs met.

Right culture:

People were supported by staff where the ethos, values, and attitudes of management and care staff ensured people led confident, inclusive and empowered lives. Staff created an environment that inspired people to understand and achieve their goals and ambitions.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

This service was registered with us on 30/07/2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.