Leeds Learning Disability Community Support Service - South and South East Leeds

Updated 8 December 2017

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 was the first inspection of the service since Aspire Community Benefit Society Limited became the registered provider in August 2016.

This inspection took place on 5, 10 and 19 October 2017 and was announced. This was because we wanted to check people were happy for us to come into their homes and so we could meet with a range of staff and people from different parts of the service. We visited the main office on the first day and a supported living service, containing twenty two flats, on the second and third days. The inspection team was made up of one adult social care inspector and an expert by experience. The expert by experience had experience of people with a learning disability, and they made phone calls to people who used the outreach service.

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. This included notifications regarding safeguarding, accidents and changes which the provider had informed us about. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We reviewed the Provider Information Record (PIR). The PIR is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During this inspection we visited the office to discuss governance and meet with the registered manager and senior area manager. We visited a supported living service, looked around the premises and spent time with people in their flats. We looked at records which related to people’s individual care. We looked at four people’s care planning documentation and other records associated with running the service. This included, training records, the staff rota, audits, medicine records and records of meetings.

We met with a group of six people who used the outreach and supported living parts of the service. We also spoke with three people individually at a supported living service. We spoke with nine people who used the outreach service, over the phone. We spent time observing how people led their lives during the day and the support that they were given by staff. During the course of the inspection we spoke with four support workers, a customer involvement coordinator and a service manager. We also received written feedback from one support worker.

Updated 8 December 2017

Leeds Learning Disability Community Support Service - South and South East Leeds provides care and support to people living in four main ‘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. As well as supported living, the service also provides outreach support to people living in their own homes. This includes assistance with accessing the community as well as support at home. The service currently supports approximately 100 people overall.

This was the first inspection of the service since Aspire Community Benefit Society Limited became the registered provider in August 2016. The inspection was to check the provider was meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008, and to provide a rating for the service. This comprehensive inspection took place on 5, 10 and 19 October 2017 and was announced.

There was a registered manager in place. 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 received good care and support and they were encouraged to lead lives in line with their own preferences and choices. The emphasis was on supporting people to be as independent as possible. People were involved in making decisions about their care and how the service was run.

People were supported to follow activities and interests of their choosing. There was a strong community presence and people were encouraged to participate in local events.

Care and support plans contained clear and up to date information about how people wanted their needs met. People were involved in developing their support plans and there were good opportunities for people to discuss any concerns or ideas that they had.

The service sometimes supported people at the end of their lives. This was managed sensitively and with care.

People were supported with their day to day health needs. Health services such as dentists, doctors and opticians were used as required and there were close links with other services such as the Leeds Community Learning Disability Team. Most people cooked their meals with the support of staff. For those people that had particular nutritional requirements there was clear guidance in place, which was followed by care staff.

Staff were knowledgeable about the needs of each person and how they preferred to live their lives. Staff received the training they needed and were supported through regular supervision meetings with the registered manager. There were safe recruitment practices in place for new staff and there were a sufficient number of staff on duty to meet people’s needs.

There were good systems in place to keep people safe. Staff were confident about their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding and also knew who they could contact regarding any concerns they had about the service. There was a positive approach to risk taking so that people could be as independent as possible. Risks in people's day to day lives had been identified and measures put in place to keep people safe. The focus was on how each person benefited from the activity undertaken.

The supported living accommodation was suitable for the people who used the service. Checks and tests were carried out regularly to make sure the environment was safe.

The legislative requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) were followed.

Staff told us that the service was well managed and there was good support. The registered manager promoted a culture of respect, involvement and independence. There were good systems in place to make sure that the quality of care was maintained. Areas that required improvement were identified and necessary action taken.