Archived: Sussex Empowered Living Ltd

Updated 26 February 2019

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 21 November 2018 and was announced. We gave the service two days’ notice of the inspection site visit because the service is small. We needed to be sure that staff would be in and that we would be able to talk to people. The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

Before the inspection we checked the information that we held about the service and the service provider. This included statutory notifications sent to us by the registered manager about incidents and events that had occurred at the service. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. 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 used all this information to decide which areas to focus on during our inspection.

We spoke with one person. We spoke with the registered manager, the operations manager, and two staff members. We looked at a range of documents including policies and procedures, care records for one person and other documents such as safeguarding, incident and accident records, medication records and quality assurance information. We reviewed two staff records including recruitment, supervision and training information as well as team meeting minutes and we looked at the provider’s information systems, which included the allocation of care visits.

This was the first inspection since the service registered on 6 July 2015. This was because the service was not providing the regulated activity until December 2017.

Updated 26 February 2019

The inspection took place on 21 November 2018 and was announced. This was the first inspection since the service was registered on 6 July 2015. The provider informed us that regulated activity had been provided since December 2017.

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to younger disabled adults who have learning disabilities, autistic spectrum disorder or mental health needs.

Not everyone using Sussex Empowered Living receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also take into account any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection nine people were receiving support from the service and one person was receiving the regulated activity of personal care.

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.” Registering the Right Support CQC policy

The service has a registered manager. 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.

Some records had not been completed accurately. Whilst we did not identify a negative impact for the person, this is an area of practice that needs to improve.

There were safe systems in place to ensure that risks to people were assessed and managed effectively. People were supported to take positive risks and one person told us, “I’m really proud of myself and what I have achieved.” Staff demonstrated a clear understanding of their responsibilities for safeguarding people. Appropriate safeguarding alerts had been raised with the local authority. Staff supported people to take their medicines safely. Incidents and accidents were monitored and improvements made when things went wrong.

People’s needs were assessed in a holistic way. Staff supported people to identify goals and outcomes that they wanted to achieve and supported them to work towards these. Staff had received the training and support they needed to be effective in their roles. A person told us, “They are very good, they have had epilepsy training and they know what they are doing.” People were supported to have enough to eat and drink and to access the health care services they needed. 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. Staff understood their responsibilities to gain consent from people before providing care or support. One person told us, “They always ask me, I feel that I am in control.”

Staff had developed positive relationships with people and treated them respectfully. One staff member told us a person they were supporting was, “ambitious, creative and inspirational.” People were supported to express their views and to be involved in designing their care and support plans. One person told us, “We worked it out while we were having a coffee, we put the plan together, I was totally involved.” Staff supported people to maintain their dignity and respected their views. This was reflected within care plans.

People were receiving care in a person-centred way. Staff involved people and where appropriate their relatives in planning and reviewing their care. People were leading full and active lives. One person told us how staff supported them to be able to attend a university course. Systems were in place to monitor people’s complaints and respond to their concerns. No people had needed support with end of life care. However, the registered manager described how they would be supported to plan for end of life care if required.

There was clear and visible leadership. Staff described the registered manager as ‘inspirational’ and ‘passionate’ about the service. Staff and people were engaged in developments at the service and felt that their views were valued and listened to. Quality assurance systems identified where improvements were needed and actions plans were developed to drive improvements.