Norwood

Updated 2 June 2022

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.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

This inspection was completed by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in their own homes, 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.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 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.

Inspection activity started on 6 May 2022 and ended on 7 May 2022. We visited the office location on 6 May 2022.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection and information we had recently received during a monitoring activity. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with people who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three members of staff including the registered manager. We reviewed a range of records. This included care records, staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We also viewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at records regarding the governance of the service, safe recruitment and training.

Updated 2 June 2022

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

About the service

Norwood is a supported living service providing personal care and support for people living in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting four people, not everybody supported by the service received the regulated activity of personal care; our inspection focused on people receiving personal care.

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

People told us they felt safe with the service they received. Family members told us they were confident their relative was kept safe and were treated with the utmost respect. The support people received promoted them making as many choices and decisions for themselves as possible. People’s autonomy and freedom was promoted, by staff who understood and respected people’s rights.

Each person had an individual risk assessment that outlined the support they needed to remain safe in different situations. Staff were knowledgeable about these assessments and people’s support needs. People’s care and support was reviewed in partnership with them and people who were important to them.

Based on our review of key questions; Is the service safe? And, Is the service well-led? The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right support; the model of care and support maximised people’s choice, autonomy and independence. Right Care; people’s care focused on people as individuals and promoted their rights as equal citizens. Right culture; there was a culture of people being partners in designing their care and support; and of listening to people.

The service has responded well to the COVID-19 pandemic and had supported people to remain as safe as possible. Family members told us they felt very reassured by the response of the registered manager and other staff members.

We have made a recommendation about supporting people with their tenancy agreements.

There was an open, progressive and reflective culture within the service that promoted learning. The registered manager had effective oversight of the safety and quality of the service being provided; and they sought and acted on people’s feedback.

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 18 July 2019).

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services which have had a recent Direct Monitoring Approach (DMA) assessment where no further action was needed to seek assurance about this decision and to identify learning about the DMA process.

During this inspection we also checked that the service is applying the principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

We undertook a focused inspection to only review the key questions of Safe and Well-led. Our report is only based on the findings in those areas reviewed at this inspection. The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for the Effective, Caring and Responsive key questions were not looked at on this occasion. Ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has stayed the same based on the finding from this inspection.

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.