Potens Torbay Domiciliary Care Services provides a supported living service to people with a learning disability or mental health needs. A supported living service is where people live in their own home and receive care and support in order to promote their independence. At the time of our inspection, the service provided support to five people living in three houses. We visited the supported living setting at Conifer Lodge. People had their own rooms and shared other parts of the house including the lounge, kitchen, and dining room.
We carried out this announced inspection on 29 July 2015. The last inspection took place in February 2014 during which we found there were no breaches in the regulations.
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 happy and relaxed on the day of our inspection visit. People felt safe and comfortable in their home. People said “I feel safe here, it’s my home” and “I’m very happy with my support”. Staff understood the signs of abuse, and how to report concerns. Appropriate staff recruitment checks had been undertaken to ensure staff were suitable to work with vulnerable people.
Staff treated people with respect and kindness. There was lots of discussion and people clearly enjoyed talking with staff about their interests. Staff responded with warmth and there was lots of laughter.
People received support from skilled, trained, and experienced staff who knew them well. People told us ““The staff are excellent” and “All the staff are lovely, I get on really well with them. That’s the way life should be”. A healthcare professional said one person they visited had a good relationship with staff and felt settled. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs, enabling people to go out when they wanted to.
People were enabled through positive risk taking to progress, gain new skills, and increase their independence. People were active members of their local community and took part in a range of activities.
People were involved in planning their support. Staff had an awareness of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). The MCA provides the legal framework to assess people’s capacity to make certain decisions, at a certain time. When people are assessed as not having the capacity to make a decision, a best interest decision is made involving people who know the person well and other professionals, where relevant. The registered manager told us if people had been assessed to lack capacity, decisions would be made in the person’s best interest and take into account the person’s likes and dislikes. One person had been assessed as lacking capacity in relation to finances. The registered manager had made a referral to the local authority for an appointee to manage their finances. The Court of Protection appoints a person to make best interest decisions about people’s finances.
The service had an open culture, a clear vision and values, which were put into practice. Staff felt well supported by the registered manager and staff team to fulfil their role. The registered manager worked alongside the staff in the home. People knew the registered manager well and found them to be approachable. Comments included They’re very good” and “I do go to the manager”.
People were actively involved in the running of the service. There were regular meetings where people were encouraged to give feedback. People took part in staff interviews and had devised a list of questions to ask. People had asked for an extra safety check to confirm visitor’s identity and this had been introduced.
The provider had systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of care and support provided. The service encouraged feedback and used this to drive improvements.