Thera South West

Updated 1 January 2020

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 and Notice of inspection

The majority of Thera locations, including Thera South West are registered in Grantham, Lincolnshire, despite the organisation being responsible for other locations in different parts of the country. Due to this, a decision was made by CQC to co-ordinate inspection activity at a number of Thera locations. A head office visit was carried out on 16 September 2019 by a team of inspectors prior to locations being inspected. The information from this visit fed into each of the location inspections. Thera South West (referred to as the provider) was given one week’s notice and was inspected between 30 October 2019 and 20 November 2019 by four inspectors.

Service and service type

Thera South West provides care and support to people living in ‘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 covers the south western counties of Devon, Dorset and parts of Wiltshire.

The service had three managers 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.

What we did before the inspection

Prior to the inspection, we used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). 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 also reviewed the information we held about the service and notifications we had received. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spent time talking with 14 people and observing the interactions between them and staff.

We spoke with 24 members of staff.

We reviewed 14 people’s care files, eight staff files, staff training records and a selection of policies, procedures and records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection

After our visit we sought feedback from health and social care professionals to obtain their views of the service provided to people. We received feedback from one health professional

Updated 1 January 2020

About the service

Thera South West provides care and support to people living with a learning disability in ‘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 covers the south western counties of Devon, Dorset and parts of Wiltshire.

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

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 service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

The service provided safe care to people. One person commented: “I feel safe with the staff around me.” Medicines were safely managed on people’s behalf.

Care files were personalised to reflect people’s personal preferences. People were supported to maintain a balanced diet. Health and social care professionals were regularly involved in people’s care to ensure they received the care and treatment which was right for them.

Staff relationships with people were caring and supportive. Staff treated people with dignity and respect when helping them with daily living tasks. The service ensured people led meaningful and fulfilled lives.

There were effective staff recruitment and selection processes in place. People received effective care and support from staff who were well trained and competent.

Staff spoke positively about communication and how the registered managers worked well with them and encouraged their professional development.

A number of methods were used to assess the quality and safety of the service people received and continuous improvements were made in response to the findings.

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

Why we inspected: This was a planned first inspection.

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.