St Anne's Community Services - Leeds DCA 2

Updated 18 October 2019

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

The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in five ‘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 had two 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.

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 registered managers would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 11 September 2019 and ended on 17 September 2019. We visited the office location on 11 September 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed all the information we held about the service. We contacted relevant agencies such as the local Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We visited and spoke or spent time with four people who used the service. We spoke by telephone with two people’s relatives. We also spoke with eight members of staff and the two registered managers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people's care records and medicine records. We looked at staff files in relation to recruitment, training and supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.

After the inspection

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

Updated 18 October 2019

About the service

St Anne’s Community Services – Leeds DCA 2 is a supported living service providing personal care to people with a learning disability in their own homes. When we inspected the service there were 16 people receiving support. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

The Secretary of State has asked the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to conduct a thematic review and to make recommendations about the use of restrictive interventions in settings that provide care for people with or who might have mental health problems, learning disabilities and/or autism. Thematic reviews look in-depth at specific issues concerning quality of care across the health and social care sectors. They expand our understanding of both good and poor practice and of the potential drivers of improvement.

As part of thematic review, we carried out a survey with the registered managers at this inspection. This considered whether the service used any restrictive intervention practices (restraint, seclusion and segregation) when supporting people.

The service used positive behaviour support principles to support people in the least restrictive way. No restrictive intervention practices were used.

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

People were safe and happy in their homes and with the care and support they received. The provider took steps to protect people from risks, including the risk of abuse or avoidable harm. Medicines were managed safely. Enough staff were employed to support people and appropriate arrangements were in place to recruit staff safely.

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 were supported to do the things they wanted to. Staff and the registered managers were enthusiastic and highly motivated to provide person-centred care based on people's choices and preferences.

Staff were trained and supported to deliver care according to people’s needs; and worked with other agencies to deliver consistent and effective care. People were supported to maintain their health and had a varied and balanced diet.

Support plans were person-centred and detailed. People told us staff were caring and treated them well. People had developed caring and kind relationships with staff and the registered managers. Staff and the management team worked to respect and promote people’s privacy, dignity and independence.

The service was well led. The provider and registered managers assessed and monitored the quality of care. There was a positive, person centred and caring culture in the service led by the registered managers. 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.

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 25 March 2017)

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.