Swanton Community Support

Updated 22 November 2019

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 an inspector and an assistant inspector.

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. The registered manager had recently returned from maternity leave. The interim manager who had been in post in their absence was also present at the inspection. They are referred to as the registered manager and interim manager respectively.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave 24 hours’ notice of the inspection because the management team sometimes spends time away from the office supporting staff and the people who use the service. Notice was given to ensure the management team were available to support the inspection.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and commissioners. The provider had not been asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. 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. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection-

We spoke with six people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the registered manager, interim manager, team leader, and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included nine people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two 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 gained feedback from two professionals who regularly visit the service.

Updated 22 November 2019

About the service

Swanton Community Support is a supported living service. The service supports people to live in their own home as independently as possible. 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. At the time of the inspection, the regulated service was supporting 27 people with a mental health need.

At the time of inspection 20 people were supported in flats at Treeview Court on the same site as the agency office, and seven people were being supported in their own homes in the community.

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

Swanton Community Support provides support to people with complex needs who find it difficult to live in other services. The service kept people safe both physically and emotionally. They managed risks associated with people’s mental health to keep people safe and promote their independence. Systems were in place to ensure that appropriate staff were recruited to work in the service. They went through a thorough induction process and received the training they needed to support people. People were supported to receive their medicines as they were prescribed. When incidents occurred, there were systems in place to ensure these were recorded and reviewed by management so that action could be taken to improve things for the future.

There was a robust assessment of people’s needs prior to them moving into the service. The assessment was holistic and considered physical, social and emotional needs. People were supported to cook healthy meals and some people had specific plans in place for staff to follow where they had specific dietary needs. The service worked well with other professionals and supported people to access healthcare. However, there were some concerns amongst professionals that recent changes in management had affected some aspects of the service. 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.

People told us the staff were kind and caring and got to know them well. They felt in control of their support which focussed around their needs. There had been recent issues in relation to the rotas which meant some people’s support had not always been with the person or at the time they preferred. This was being addressed. Staff promoted people’s privacy and dignity and there was a focus in the service in supporting people to become more independent.

The service was responsive to people’s individual needs. Care plans were regularly updated by keyworkers who knew people well. People were supported to access the community and attend activities of their choice, as well as training or work-based activities. People knew who to speak to if they had concerns and there was a robust complaints system in place. The service was not supporting people at the end of their life but had processes in place to enable them to do this if required.

Overall the service was well led. However recent changes in management and less regular team meetings had an impact on communication within the team and had affected morale of staff. The managers were addressing these concerns. The registered manager had recently returned from maternity leave and new team leaders had been appointed so they anticipated management would return to being more stable in the future. People and staff told us they could talk to managers and felt listened to. They said they were open and honest. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of care and to act to improve things if necessary.

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

Rating at last inspection:

The last rating for this service was Good (published 4 May 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Swanton Community Support on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.