The Porthouse

Updated 31 December 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. 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

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in a ‘supported living’ setting, 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.

Notice of inspection

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

What we did before the inspection

Before our inspection we reviewed information we held about the service. This included notifications the provider is required by law to send us about events that happen within the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

During the inspection

During our inspection we spoke with one person using the service. We observed interactions between people and staff to help us understand their experiences of receiving care and support at the service. We spoke with the registered manager, and three staff members. We looked at records which included two care plans, medicine records and other records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection

After our inspection we spoke with two relatives of people using the service to find out their views. The registered manager sent us additional information such as staff meeting minutes.

Updated 31 December 2019

About the service

The Porthouse is a supported living service providing 24-hour personal care and support for up to five young adults with learning disabilities and autism. At the time of our inspection two people were using the service.

The service had 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 received 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 happy living at The Porthouse. Staff treated people with kindness and respect and the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly. Relatives told us their communication with staff was good and they felt involved in their family members care. Staff had received the training and had the support they needed to understand and meet people’s needs.

Staff helped people work towards their goals and encouraged people to engage in the activities they wanted to do. They supported people to learn new skills and be as independent as they were able to be. Staff helped people keep in contact with their family and friends.

Staff knew how to keep people safe and used different ways to communicate with people to find out how they were feeling and the choices they wanted to make. Care records helped staff know what was important to people and how they wanted to be supported. Information was available for people in a way they could understand.

Managers and staff made sure people were asked their views about how the service was run and what staff could do to make things better. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff supported people to attend health care appointments and made sure heath care professionals knew how to support people during treatment. Staff made sure people received their medicine in a safe way.

Managers and staff knew how to record and report concerns, this included any safeguarding concerns. When an incident or accident happened, the reason was investigated and changes were made to make things better for people.

The provider had a range of audits in place to make sure people were safe and drive improvement. When things had gone wrong lessons were learned and this was shared with staff.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

We did not give the service a rating at our last inspection (05 June 2019). This was because there was insufficient evidence available to make a judgement and award a rating.

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.