Mid Shires Supported Living Service

Updated 8 March 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 inspector carried out this inspection.

Service and service type: Midshires Supported Living Service is a supported living service registered to provide personal care to people in their own home. Midshires Supported Living Service supported people in five locations. One location was designed as a transition service for people moving in to their own homes in the community. At the time of our inspection 24 people were using the service.

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 because it is small and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in.

What we did: Inspection site visit activity started on 13 February 2019 and ended on 15 February 2019. We visited the office location on 13 February 2019 to see the deputy manager and to review care records and policies and procedures. We visited two of the locations where people were supported on 14 and 15 February 2019 to talk to people and staff and review in house policies and procedures relating to people’s care.

Before the inspection we gathered and reviewed information that we received from the provider on the provider information return (PIR). This is a document that the provider sent us saying how they were meeting the regulations, identified any key achievements and any plans for improvement. We also reviewed all information received from external sources such as the local authority and reviews of the service.

During the inspection we:

• Spoke with four people using the service, three care staff, one team leader, the deputy manager, an office administrator and two external commissioners.

• Gathered information from three care files which included all aspects of care and risk.

• Looked at three staff files including all aspects of recruitment, supervisions, and training records.

• Records of accidents, incidents and complaints.

• Audits, surveys and minutes of staff and professional meetings.

• Policies and procedures relating to the management of the service.

Following the inspection, we received further evidence from the provider showing their quality auditing systems and processes.

Updated 8 March 2019

About the service: Midshires Supported Living Service provides support to people living in their own homes at five different service locations. One service is designed to support people to transition in to their own homes in the community. The service supports older people and younger adults living with a physical disability, a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder.

People’s experience of using this service: People were positive and spoke highly about the care they received. We saw people being supported as individuals with their preferences, likes and dislikes being adhered to.

The services worked within the guidance of Registering the Right Support for supported living services. There was a passion to increase people’s independence and involvement in their local communities. Emphasis was placed on supporting people to plan and achieve their own goals.

People received personalised care from a caring and supportive staff and management team who knew them well. People were put at the centre of their care and could make choices about how and when they received support from the staff team.

People were safe from the risk of harm and abuse. People felt safe in all aspects of their support including accessing the community and being supported to take their medicines.

Staff recruitment procedures were thorough and included all necessary criminal record checks. The staff team was consistent and this had allowed them to build trusting relationships with people.

People’s needs, preferences, likes and dislikes were assessed prior to them using the service and were kept at the centre of support planning for people.

Staff were supported to remain competent and continue to improve in their job roles. Staff received training, supervision and competency observations to support them with this.

People received support from healthcare professionals. Staff worked well with these professionals to ensure that people received the support they needed.

People were positive about the management of the service and felt able to contribute with ideas about their care and support needs.

The management team were passionate about providing high quality person centred care.

Plans were in place to use feedback from people to improve the quality of the care they received more effectively.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published 16/02/2016).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. During this inspection we found evidence continued to support the rating of good. More information is in the full report.

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.