Archived: United Response - Merseyside Supported Living

United Response- Merseyside Supported Living is a supported living service providing personal care to adults with a learning disability and/or autism. At the time of inspection, the service was supporting 12 people who lived alone or in small shared houses. Each person had their own bedroom and shared living facilities and each property had a room for staff to use when completing paperwork or supporting people overnight.

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

People were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives as staff did not always support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice however this was not always recorded effectively in people’s support plans. We have made a recommendation about seeking people’s consent.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent. People accessed volunteering opportunities and were also encouraged to be as independent as they can within their own homes.

People received care and support from staff who were caring and respectful. People's needs had been fully assessed. Support plans were in the process of being fully reviewed and were person centred and up to date. The manager worked in partnership with other agencies to ensure people received care and support that was consistent with their assessed needs.

People were protected from the risk of harm and abuse. Staff had received training and felt confident to raise any concerns. Privacy and dignity was respected and people spoke positively about the staff and management team.

Safe recruitment practices were in place and people were supported by staff that had undertaken a thorough induction process and training relevant to their roles. Enough staff were employed to meet the needs of the people using the service. Staff were supported through regular supervision and team meetings and felt well supported by the current manager.

People knew how to make a complaint and they were confident about raising concerns should they need to.

Medicines were administered by trained and competent staff and people were supported to be as independent as possible. Staff had access to personal protective equipment (PPE) to prevent and control the spread of infection.

There were systems in place to ensure that the quality of the service was monitored.

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 28 December 2016).

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.

United Response - Merseyside Supported Living provides care and support services to people with learning disabilities in the Greater Merseyside area and North Wales. People who access the service live in a tenancy and most have twenty four hour support. The office is located in central Liverpool and is close to public transport links. The office is located on the second floor of the building and is accessible by stairs or lift.

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 said staff were supportive and helpful. One person said, “The staff are lovely. They are so kind and nice.” We saw staff protected people’s privacy and dignity and were respectful, attentive and caring.

Staff were aware of how to support people and keep them safe. They were aware of how to raise concerns about poor practice or abuse should they need to. We saw staff received frequent and relevant training.

Staff recruitment was safe and robust so that risks of employing unsuitable people were reduced. Staff had to wait for all required checks before they could start working for the service. There were sufficient capable and experienced staff who provided a flexible service which met people’s needs.

Staff supported people to shop for and prepare nutritional and healthy food.

Staff supported people in a person centred way. Care plans were in place detailing how people preferred to be supported.

People were given support and encouragement to develop new skills and interests, including work, social and leisure activities. They told us they were encouraged to make choices and decisions about their care and lifestyles. Relatives were also kept involved where appropriate.

People were supported to take any medicines safely. Staff saw medicines were managed carefully and given as prescribed. They said their health needs were met and staff responded to any requests for assistance promptly.

Staff understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). This enabled staff to work within the law to support people who may lack capacity to make their own decisions.

There was a transparent and open culture that encouraged people to express any ideas or concerns. People and their relatives said their views and preferences were listened to and acted on.

People we spoke with told us they knew how to raise a concern or to make a complaint. One person told us, “If my staff couldn’t help I would ring [registered manager] who would sort things out.” People said when they had told staff of any concerns they listened to them and took action to help.

There were procedures in place to monitor the quality of the service. The registered manager sought people’s views and dealt with any issues of quality quickly and appropriately.

We spoke with seven members of staff who held various roles within the service. They had a good understanding of the needs of the people who used the service. Staff were person centred in their approach. We found evidence that demonstrated there were sufficient numbers of staff to meet the needs of the people who used the service. People told us they were supported by staff they were familiar with and that had no difficulty in getting hold of staff when they needed to.

People who used the service were safeguarded from the risk of abuse because the provider had appropriately responded to allegations of abuse. Support staff had received up to date training in safeguarding adults from abuse. People who used the service and their relatives told us that they felt safe. People were protected from inappropriate or unsafe care and support because Merseyside Supported Living had systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service they provided. An appropriate medication policy and procedure was in place and staff had received training in the management of medication.