Living Ambitions - Newcastle

Updated 14 December 2019

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in 16 ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission at the time of the inspection. This means that the provider is legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. The provider had taken reasonable steps to recruit a new manager who was due to start in the near future and would begin the registration process at that stage.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a supported living service and we needed to be sure that the provider or manager would be in the office to support the inspection and people would be home.

Inspection activity started on 30 September 2019 and ended on 8 October 2019. We visited people in their homes on 30 September 2019 and spoke with people who used the service and their relatives via telephone on 4 October 2019. We visited the office location on 1 and 8 October 2019 and spoke with staff throughout the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We also contacted Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with seven people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We also spoke with nine staff members including the regional director of excellence team, the interim manager, three service managers and four support workers.

We reviewed a range of records including four people’s care records and medical records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 14 December 2019

About the service

Living Ambitions - Newcastle provides care and support to people living in 16 ‘supported living’ settings. At the time of the inspection 30 people were using the service.

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

People told us they were happy with the service, felt comfortable with staff and were kept safe. Risks were managed safely. The provider learned from previous accidents and incidents to reduce future risks. The manager understood their responsibilities about safeguarding and staff had been appropriately trained. Arrangements were in place for the safe administration of medicines and staff were recruited in a safe way.

Assessments of people’s needs were carried out before they started receiving support. Staff received regular training and supervisions as well as annual appraisals. People were supported with their nutritional needs, where required, and to access a range of health care professionals in order to maintain their health. 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.

People and relatives felt staff treated them with dignity and respect. Staff promoted and maintained people’s independence by encouraging them to care for themselves, where possible. People were supported to access advocacy services.

Care plans were detailed, person-centred and included people’s preferences. People’s communication needs were detailed within care records and staff knew how to communicate with them effectively. People and relatives knew how to raise any concerns and the provider had an effective complaints procedure in place.

People and relatives were complimentary about the service. Staff felt management were visible and approachable. An effective quality assurance process was in place. People and relatives were regularly consulted about the quality of the service through surveys. Staff were involved in the ongoing development and improvement of the service through regular meetings.

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 requires improvement (published 5 April 2019) and there were two breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when, to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

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.