Precious Homes East London

Updated 11 November 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. 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 team consisted of two inspectors.

Service and Service Type

The service provides care and support to people living in two ‘supported living’ settings, so they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. The Care Quality Commission (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 not a registered manager in post. A new manager had been in post for two weeks and had submitted an application to register. We are currently assessing this application.

Notice of Inspection

We gave the service 18 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and people are often out. We wanted to be sure the manager and staff would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about the service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We observed care and support in communal areas. We spoke with five staff including the manager and four support workers. We looked at a range of management records including supervision, quality audits and medicines. We also reviewed four staff recruitment files and three people’s care records. After the inspection visit, we spoke with two relatives. We continued to liaise with the service and the manager who sent us documentation we asked for and clarified any queries we had.

Updated 11 November 2022

About the service

Precious Homes East London is a supported living service providing personal care to people living with autism or a learning disability. At the time of our inspection there were nine people using the service. The service was provided to people in their own self-contained flats within two buildings.

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.

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

Right Support:

The model of care and the setting maximised people’s choice, control and independence. People lived in their own flats where they felt safe and comfortable. Care and support was provided in a safe, clean and well-maintained environment which met people’s sensory and physical needs. Staff supported people to achieve their goals and aspirations. People were encouraged to make choices and decisions in accordance with their level of understanding.

People were supported by enough appropriately skilled staff to meet their needs and keep them safe. People’s risks were assessed in a person-centred way. Care plans and risk assessments were regularly evaluated, involving the person, relatives and other professionals as appropriate. People who may become anxious or distressed had proactive plans in place to reduce the need for restrictive practices. Systems were in place to report and learn from any incidents where restrictive practices were used.

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.

Right Care:

Care was person-centred and promoted people’s dignity, privacy and human rights. People were protected from abuse and poor care. Staff demonstrated they provided kind and compassionate care to people and relatives. Relatives confirmed that they were included in decision making about their relative’s care. People were supported to maintain their privacy, dignity and independence by a staff team who knew them well. The provider had a system of matching the skills and qualities of staff to the people who used the service.

People had their communication needs met and information was shared in a way that could be understood. People were supported to maintain links with their culture and family. Staff engaged people in activities in accordance with their individual care plans. Support focused on people’s quality of life and followed best practice.

Right Culture:

The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensured people using services led confident, inclusive and empowered lives. The manager had an open door policy and relatives and staff spoke positively of the managers in the service. Relatives and staff told us they felt comfortable raising concerns and making suggestions to enable improvements to be made to the service.

Managers ensured that staff had relevant training, supervision and appraisal. Governance systems ensured people were kept safe and received a high quality of care and support in line with their personal needs. People, relatives, staff and other professionals were asked by the provider about their opinions of the service. Staff worked well with other services and professionals to improve outcomes for people.

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 20 June 2019)

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out due to concerns raised by the local authority regarding the safe care and treatment of people. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the safe section of this full report.

Follow up

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