Leeds Learning Disability Community Support Service-East and North East Leeds

Leeds Learning Disability Community Support East and North East Leeds is a service that supports adults with learning disabilities to live their day to day lives in shared accommodation or their own flats. The service provided personal care to 72 people at the time of the inspection.

The service had 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.

People’s experience of using the service

People using the service were kept safe by staff. Safeguarding processes were in place and being followed to investigate and respond to allegations of abuse. Staff were knowledgeable about safeguarding systems and knew how to keep people safe. Risk assessments were completed and regularly reviewed to ensure risks were mitigated. Incidents and accidents were monitored, and actions taken to prevent future occurrences. Medicines were managed safely, however storage of medicines did not always follow best practice. Staffing levels were sufficient to meet people’s needs and recruitment procedures were robust.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff were provided with the necessary training to carry out their roles. Staff were supported with regular supervisions and appraisals. Staff practice was monitored through competency and observational checks. People were supported to maintain a healthy diet and people were offered choices about what they ate and drank. People were supported by health professionals and staff acted on advice given to improve people’s wellbeing.

People received care from staff who were kind and compassionate. People and staff knew each other well as many staff had worked for the service for a long period of time. People and staff told us they had built positive relationships which helped people to feel supported in their day to day lives. People were encouraged by staff to learn new skills to promote their independence. Staff respected people and their diverse needs.

Care plans were completed, and people were supported to express their views about their care. People were involved in a variety of activities of their choice which supported them to maintain their independence.

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.

The provider used internal and external audit systems to monitor the quality and safety of the care provided. People, their relatives and staff were asked for their views so improvements could be made. The provider had good community links and engaged with other organisations to improve their knowledge of good practice and learn from others. Staff felt the management team were supportive and people felt concerns would be managed effectively.

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 1 August 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

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.

Leeds Learning Disability Community Support East and North East Leeds is a service that supports adults with learning disabilities to live their day to day lives in shared accommodation or their own flats. The registered office is based in Potternewton in Leeds with four sub offices around East and North East Leeds.

Medicines were managed and stored safely. Medication Administration Records (MAR) were signed to indicate that people's prescribed medicine had been taken. Prescribed creams were recorded on a cream chart with a body map to provide visual instructions; they were signed as given on the MAR.

People were supported to live as independently as they were able. They had person centred support plans which detailed what was important for them and the amount of support they needed. People told us they were happy with the support they received and we saw positive interactions with people and staff.

People had access to a wide range of activities in the community some of which they accessed with support from staff. Some people attended a variety of organised day care and some chose to spend their day differently. People had one to one time with a member of staff; they discussed with staff what they would like to do. One person was going on a trip pursuing an interest which they were looking forward to.

Staff were enthusiastic and seemed relaxed and confident when carrying out their work. They were able to tell us about peoples likes and dislikes and we heard people being offered choices. People had enough to eat and drink and they were involved in choosing and planning their own meals.

People's risks were assessed and plans developed to ensure care was provided safely. A variety of risks were assessed which included a moving and handling risk assessment and an eating and drinking risk assessment. Where a risk was identified, there was a plan to manage the risk.

There were enough staff to meet people's needs. Staffing was planned around people's activities and there were regular staff to cover any gaps in the roster. Staff had appropriate safety checks before starting work in the service.

People had access to healthcare when they needed it.

People were treated with dignity and respect and their privacy was maintained. Staff responded positively to people. Two way discussions took place with people when planning their activities.