Supported Lifestyles Main Office

Updated 8 January 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.

Inspection team

The inspection was undertaken by two inspectors.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in nine ‘supported living’ settings, so 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.

The service had a manager 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. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 21 July 2021 and ended on 5 November 2021. The delay was due to a COVID-19 outbreak. We visited the office location on 21 July and 5 November 2021.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with eight people who used the service and thirteen relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, nominated individual, two support workers and the human resources manager who oversaw staff recruitment and training. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records, three of those people’s medication records, and three staff files in relation to recruitment, training and supervision. We also reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures and quality assurance records.

After the inspection

We reviewed documentation provided by the registered manager.

Updated 8 January 2022

About the service

Supported Lifestyles Main Office is a supported living service. Not everyone who uses the service receives 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.

At the time of the inspection, the service was providing personal care to 54 people with a learning disability and autistic people across nine settings in the Bournemouth and Southbourne area. There was a central office in Southbourne.

The size of the supported living settings varied between four and eight bedrooms or flats. Each of the locations had a staff sleep-in room and an office. There were shared living areas and kitchen spaces. Some people in some of the settings had their own kitchenettes within their flats.

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

People and relatives said they or their loved ones felt comfortable with staff. People had a consistent team of safely recruited staff with the necessary skills and abilities to support them safely. People received the support they needed to manage risks, whilst developing their independence. Medicines were managed safely, as was the risk of infection.

People and relatives praised the support provided. Care was personalised. There was an emphasis on getting to know and understand people. People had the support they needed with communicating. They were supported to keep in contact with their families, to develop friendships and to get involved in work, education and hobbies.

The service had an open, inclusive, person-centred culture. Relatives voiced confidence in senior leaders, who had close oversight of the whole service and were in regular communication with people and their families.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

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

Right support:

• People and relatives told us how they or their family member lived how they wanted to live and had the support they needed to do this. Staff encouraged people’s choice, control and independence. 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.

Right care:

• Care and support was provided according to people’s individual needs and wishes. It promoted their dignity, privacy and human rights.

Right culture:

• The ethos across the service was that people should be supported in such a way as they could lead confident, inclusive lives. The senior leadership team role-modelled such person-centred practice. They had regular contact with people, relatives and staff, overseeing the culture of the service and ensuring this remained positive. They responded promptly and openly to any concerns raised by people, families or staff.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 24 September 2019) and there was a breach of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 27 and 29 August 2019. A breach of legal requirements was found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve good governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions safe, responsive and well-led, which includes those requirements.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Supported Lifestyles Main Office on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.