Supported Housing

Supported Housing is owned by The East Riding of Yorkshire Council (ERYC). The service provides 24-hour domiciliary care and support to 18 people with learning disabilities in the community. It has an office base in Beverley. Support workers provide a service to people living in either supported living scheme properties or in their own homes. Hours of support are dependent upon individual needs and parts of the service operate over 24 hours, providing sleep-in support as required.

The service was last inspected in March 2016 and at that time we gave an overall rating of good. The provider had made improvements to the service since the last inspection and the well led domain has improved to outstanding.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

The service was caring. Staff knew the importance of developing good working relationships with the people they supported and ensured they provided person centred care based on their specific needs. People told us they felt like one big family and staff supported people to maintain relationships formed across services. Staff demonstrated a good knowledge of people's personalities, individual needs and what was important to them.

Staff demonstrated warm caring relations between people and staff and we were told that people felt valued and that their relations with staff were person centred and focused on them as individuals

The service was exceptionally well-led. All levels of the management team shared the same vision for providing a service that promoted a high standard of person centred care. The registered manager’s enthusiastic attitude drove the service. Staff saw them as a role model and followed their lead by embedding the values of the service in all areas of support for people.

The approach of the registered manager and the staff team collectively empowered people to live their lives the way they wanted to.

The quality assurance team told us that the registered manager was extremely driven and committed to internal processes for managing quality and was always at the fore front leading the way for other services.

People using the service told us they felt safe. Staff showed a good understanding of how to keep people safe and were aware of safeguarding procedures in place to ensure safety. Detailed risk assessments supported people to take positive risk and promote people’s independence. Systems were in place that ensured staff were recruited safely.

People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice. People were fully involved in choosing and preparing their own meals and to maintain a healthy diet. Records showed health advice was sought in a timely manner and people had access to a range of healthcare professionals.

The service understood the needs of different people and groups of people, and delivered care and support in a way that met these needs and promoted equality. People received personalised care which was responsive to their needs. Where people’s needs changed the staff worked in a proactive way to ensure these changes were communicated across the team and recorded.

People planned activities that were meaningful to them. Annual holidays were of people’s own choice and staff supported people to explore new activities and interests by providing people with information of events in the local area.

End of life care plans were in place and staff supported people to explore feelings and deal with bereavement.

The service is registered to provide personal care and other types of support to people living in their own homes such as, meal planning, budgeting and shopping. The service provides 24 hour domiciliary care and support to people who may have learning disabilities in the community. It has an office base in Beverley and support workers provide a service to people living in either supported living scheme properties or in private properties. Hours of operation are dependent upon individual needs and parts of the service operate over 24 hours, providing sleep-in support as required.

The registered provider is required to have a registered manager in post and on the day of the inspection there was a manager in post who was registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

During this inspection people told us that they felt safe when receiving a service from Supported Housing. People’s needs were assessed and risk assessments put in place to reduce the risk of avoidable harm. People were protected from the risks of harm or abuse because the registered provider had effective systems in place to manage any safeguarding concerns. Staff were trained in safeguarding adults from abuse and understood their responsibilities for protecting people from the risk of harm.

Where people required medication those that needed support with it were appropriately supported to take it by trained and knowledgeable staff, so that people took their medication safely.

The registered provider had an effective recruitment and induction programme and provided on-going training to make sure staff had the necessary skills for their roles. Staff told us they felt supported in their role and there were systems to monitor the quality of the care provided. Staff were supported through team meetings, employment development reviews (EDRs) and supervisions to improve and develop in their roles.

We found that staff were appropriately trained and skilled to carry out their roles. They understood the principles and legislation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and they encouraged people to make their own choices and decisions about daily living.

People using the agency were positive about the caring attitudes of staff. We observed that staff were kind, caring and attentive to people’s needs. People’s privacy and dignity were respected.

We saw that there were systems in place to assess and record people’s needs so that staff could provide personalised care and support. Care files were updated regularly and information shared so that staff were aware of changing needs.

We saw that the registered provider had a quality assurance system for the agency, which included audits and a service team plan. The registered manager monitored the quality of the service provision, supported the staff team and ensured that people who used the agency were able to make suggestions and raise concerns.

We observed that records were well maintained, there was clear organisation and leadership with good communication between the registered manager and the staff team.

We saw that care needs were discussed with people and/or their relatives and before people received care their consent was asked for. One person said 'They ask me what I like'.

People told us they were well cared for. One person said 'The staff are good. We had a trip to the Humber Bridge with a worker yesterday'. Another person told us 'I get to do what I want'.

There was enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet people's needs. Staff had received appropriate professional development and training to ensure they could meet the needs of the people who used the service.

There was a complaints procedure in place at the home. The people we spoke with knew what to do if they had any concerns. The provider had systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of service that people received.