Archived: Masons Hill

Updated 12 April 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

One inspector carried out this inspection

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.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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. 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 it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service and three people’s relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with two members of staff and the registered manager. We reviewed a range of records. These included two people’s care records and medication records. We looked at staff records in relation to recruitment, training, supervision and other records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures and quality assurance records.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 12 April 2022

About the service

Masons Hill provides care and support to people living in a supported living setting. At the time of the inspection six people were living in individual flats on one site that had been adapted to meet their needs. There was also an office on site from where staff and the registered manager arranged and managed support. CQC does not regulate premises for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s care and support.

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

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.

We found the outcomes for people using this service reflected the principles and values of Right support, right care, right culture. These included promotion of choice and control, inclusion and independence. People’s support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

Right support

People’s independence was promoted, and they were encouraged to maintain a healthy balanced diet. Risks to people had been assessed to ensure their needs were safely met. People had access to health care professionals when they needed them.There was a complaints procedure in place in formats that people could understand.

Right care

Their care and support needs were assessed before they started to use the service. Staff were trained in areas specifically related to people’s care and support needs and they received regular supervision from the registered manager.

Right culture

People had been consulted about their care and support needs. Care records included monthly keyworker documents. These recorded discussions between people and staff about their wishes and plans on how to achieve them. People using the service and staff views were considered through surveys, meetings and spot checks.

The provider had safeguarding and whistleblowing procedures in place and staff had a clear understanding of these. Robust recruitment checks had taken place before staff started working at the service. There were enough staff available to meet people’s needs.

People’s medicines were managed safely. Staff followed government guidance in relation to infection prevention and control. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People had access to end of life care and support if it was required.

The registered manager and staff worked in partnership with health and social care providers to deliver an effective service. There were systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service and any learning was identified and acted on. Staff told us they received good support from the registered manager.

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 1 December 2020 and this is the first inspection. The last rating for the service under the previous provider was Outstanding, published on 22 November 2017.

Why we inspected

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

Follow up

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