Support to Live at Home Central

Updated 21 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:

The inspection was completed by one inspector.

Service and service type:

Central Supported Housing and Domiciliary service provides care and support to people living in 'supported living' settings, so that they can live in their own home 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 had two managers 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 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small and the managers are often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in. Inspection site visit activity took place on Thursday 28 February 2019.

What we did:

We reviewed information we had received about the service. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about and we sought feedback from the local authority and health professionals who worked with the service. We used information the provider sent to us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We visited the service office on 28 February 2019 and spoke with the registered managers and three members of staff; and to review three people’s care records, policies and procedures. We also spoke with one person using the service who came to see us at the service office and we visited two people in their own homes, spoke with two relatives and a further two members of care staff.

Updated 21 March 2019

About the service:

This service provides care and support to people living in 'supported living' settings, so that they can live in their own home 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. At the time of our inspection 11 people were using the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

People received a consistently good service and felt safe with the support they received from the staff.

People’s medicines were being managed safely by staff trained to administer medicines.

Staff knew people well and provided support to them in the way they wished. People’s individual needs and preferences were recorded and understood by the staff. Support was provided which ensured people received nutritious food and drinks of their choice.

Staff were supported through planned training, supervision and a yearly appraisal.

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 were involved in decisions about their care and staff sought appropriate consent and asked people what help they needed. People received care that respected their privacy and dignity as well as promoting their independence wherever possible.

Each person had an individual care plan including an assessment of their needs, risk assessment and detailed information about how to achieve agreed goals.

The service had a complains policy which had been designed so that it could be understood and used by the people using the service.

The service was well-led by a dedicated management team who demonstrated understanding and commitment to the needs of the people who used the service.

Senior staff carried audits of the support provided and sought the views of the people using the service through surveys.

Rating at last inspection: At our last inspection on 10 June 2016 the service was rated Good. The report was published on19 August 2016.

Why we inspected: We inspected the service as part of our inspection schedule methodology for ‘Good’ rated services.