Archived: St George's House

Dunstall Enterprises Limited- St George’s House provides a supported living service to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection the service provided a supported living service to thirty-one people across five properties.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

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.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Staff provided people with high quality care that relatives described as ‘excellent’ and ‘out of this world’. Staff went above and beyond to provide people with high-quality care that exceeded expectations. There was a palpable person-centred culture throughout the service and staff were empowered to work imaginatively and creatively and to focus on the needs of people.

A meticulous recruitment process meant that people were skilfully matched to staff who shared similar interests and things that were important to them. People had developed meaningful relationships with staff that were trained to provide support with kindness, compassion and sensitivity.

People were treated as individuals and were encouraged to thrive and grow, developing new life skills to enable them to live as independently as possible. People were involved in decisions about their care and the different methods used to support people to communicate played a vital role in engaging people to be involved in all aspects of their care.

Staff utilised their knowledge of equality and diversity embedding this in practice which meant people’s diverse needs were respected and understood. This approach meant that care and support was tailored to meet individual needs allowing people to achieve goals and aspirations.

There was a positive approach to safety and risk and people were supported with positive risk taking. People were safeguarded from the risk of harm and abuse and people’s individual risks were managed well. Medicines were managed in a safe way.

People had their needs assessed and planned for and care and was delivered by a skilled staff team who were trained and knew people well. Staff worked effectively with each other and with other agencies and organisations to provide good, quality care for people. 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.

People received care that was responsive to their needs. People were supported to follow their interests and were given choices about the way in which their support was delivered. Complaints were dealt with in a timely way and feedback was welcomed and actioned.

The provider had a clear vision for the service and staff at all levels demonstrated the provider’s values.

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 14 February 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information 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.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. However, when people were not able to make decisions about their support, the provider did not always ensure that they had the information needed to confirm who could make decisions on their behalf. Even though people’s capacity had been considered, the provider had not assessed this and was not able to show why some decisions made on behalf of people were in their best interests.

People were safe receiving support from staff who had the knowledge and skills needed to protect people from harm and abuse. Risks to people were assessed and managed to keep them safe at home and in the community. There were enough staff available to meet people’s needs and the provider had safe recruitment processes in place. People were supported to have their medicines safely and as prescribed.

Staff were supported and worked well as a team. They were equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to carry out their roles. People were supported to maintain a balanced diet and good physical health.

People were treated with kindness by staff who were caring. People were encouraged to make decisions about their care and staff knew how to communicate with people to enable them to be involved. People’s skills were recognised and they were supported to be independent. People’s privacy was respected and their dignity promoted. Relationships were maintained and families were able to visit when they chose.

People were involved in the planning of their care and received support that was individual to them. People’s views were respected and they were supported to take part in activities that they enjoyed. People were encouraged to give feedback about their support and knew how to raise any concerns or complaints.

A positive open culture was promoted and people were positive about the management and leadership in place. There were effective systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. These were used to drive continuous improvements.