Salisbury Support Services

Updated 2 March 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was undertaken by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in 3 ‘supported living’ schemes, 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.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is a supported living scheme. People are often out, and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

Inspection activity started on 1 February 2023 and ended on 15 February 2023. We visited the location’s office on 6 February 2023. We visited 2 supported living schemes on 6 and 8 February 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We looked at the information we held about the service and information from other sources such as visiting professionals. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 5 people who received support about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 7 members of staff including the registered manager, care staff and the office administrator. We sought feedback from relatives and visiting health professionals about their experience of the care provided

We reviewed a range of records. This included 5 people’s care and medicine records. We looked at 3 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.

Updated 2 March 2023

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

About the service

Salisbury Support Services is a supported living service. The service supported people with a learning disability and autistic people. At the time of the inspection 8 people were receiving the regulated activity of personal care. Support was provided across 3 supported living schemes. Staff were available in each scheme 24 hours a day.

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

Right Support: The model of care was not always in line with nationally recognised standards for supported living. We have made recommendations to the provider about this.

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 support they received enabled them to make choices about how to live their lives. Staff focused on each person’s strengths to enable people to lead fulfilling and meaningful lives.

Right Care: People told us they received kind and compassionate care that supported their needs and aspirations. Care was personalised and responsive. People were treated with dignity and respect by kind and caring staff who understood their individual needs, choices and preferences well.

Right Culture: The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensured people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives. There was a flexible approach to risk management which promoted people’s independence and provided opportunities for new experiences. There was a strong commitment to ensuring the service was inclusive and people had the opportunity to gain employment, learn new skills and develop friendships and community connections.

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 13 January 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has remained good based on the findings of this inspection. We have made a recommendation about standards for supported living.

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

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.