Updated 2 May 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team:
One adult social care inspector and an Expert by Experience carried out the inspection. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service; they had cared for a relative with a learning disability.
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. This service also provides personal care to individual people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection it was providing this type of care and support to 17 people.
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 service had a manager 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 24 hours’ notice of the inspection visit to be sure the registered manager, staff and people they supported would be available to speak with us.
What we did:
Inspection site visit activity took place between 08 and 15 April 2019. We visited the office location on the 10 April 2019 to see the manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures.
Before our inspection we completed a planning tool and reviewed the information we held on the service. This included notifications we had received from the provider, about incidents that affect the health, safety and welfare of people supported by the service. As part of the inspection we used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
We sought feedback from the local authority, professionals who work with the service and from 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 visited a supported living house and made telephone calls to people receiving a service and their relatives. During the inspection, we spoke with nine people who used the service. The nature of the disability of some people was such that it was not always possible to gain direct views about their experiences of the support provided. In those instances, we used observations of their interactions with the staff team and the non-verbal communication they relayed in order to assess how comfortable they were with the staff team. Other people were able to give direct accounts of their experiences.
We also spoke with the registered manager, registered provider, three senior managers and four members of support staff. We looked at six peop