Northumbria Supported Living Service

Updated 30 June 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

One inspector carried out the inspection.

Service and service type

This service 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.

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 the service had a registered manager in post. They were on annual leave at the time of inspection.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

Inspection activity started on 7 June 2023 and ended on 12 June 2023. We visited the service on 7 June 2023.

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. We reviewed the Provider Information Return (PIR). 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. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 4 people who used the service. We observed staff interacting with people. We spoke with the team leader and 3 other support staff. We telephoned 3 relatives via telephone. We contacted 3 health and social care professionals via telephone and email. We spoke with the registered manager on the telephone on their return from leave.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people’s care and support records and medication records. We looked at 2 staff files. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including auditing, training data, photographs, surveys, analysis, policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 30 June 2023

About the service

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.

Northumbria Supported Living is comprised of a location which has 9 self-contained flats, and an outreach service in Gosforth, in which the individual is supported in their own home. 4 of the 10 people using the service were in receipt of personal care at the time of inspection.

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

Right Support

People enjoyed a good quality of life and achieved their goals and aspirations. Staff helped people to do so. Staff advocated for people where necessary and ensured they were as involved as practicable in decision making. People experienced good health and wellbeing outcomes. Leaders were aware of good practice principles in order to ensure the service provide the right kind of support for people to thrive.

Right Care

People lived a full life. Staff worked flexibly to support people’s differing needs and independence. People had confidently returned to pre-pandemic hobbies and activities. Care plans were detailed and involved people. They were focussed on what people could achieve. Risks were managed effectively, taking a positive approach to risk. Staff communicated well with people, understanding their individualities and mannerisms. Staff liaised with external health and social care professionals to ensure people received the right clinical support.

Right culture

The culture of the service was centred around people’s goals and aspirations. People played a part in how the service was run and enjoyed spending time independently, and with friends they have made. Leaders understood people’s needs and ensured best practice was followed.

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 (report published 20 June 2018).

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.