Archived: Bethphage 3

Updated 3 April 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:

* Our inspection was completed by one inspector.

Service and service type:

* This service provides care and support to people with learning disabilities who reside in supported living settings, so 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 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 visit because it is small and we needed to be sure that staff would be in the office.

* Inspection site visit activity started on 22 February 2019 and ended on 1 March 2019. We visited the office location on 22 February 2019 to see the registered manager and office staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures. We also visited a supported living location on this date to speak with people and staff who used the service. We then called the relative of a person who used the service on 1 March 2019.

What we did:

* We used information we held about the service and the provider to assist us to plan the inspection. This included any notifications the provider had sent to us about significant events at the service and any feedback from members of the public and local authorities. We also checked records held by Companies House.

* We also used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. 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 produced an inspection plan to assist us to conduct the inspection visit.

* We spoke with three people who used the service, one relative, five members of care staff and the registered manager. We did this to gain people’s views about the care and to check that standards of care were being met.

* We observed how the staff interacted with people in communal areas and we looked at the care records of five people who used the service, to see if their records were accurate and up to date. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service. These included staff files, rotas and quality assurance records.

Updated 3 April 2019

About the service:

This service provides care and support to people with learning disabilities who reside in supported living settings, so that they can live in their own home as independently as possible. At the time of our inspection 17 people were receiving personal care from Bethphage 3.

People’s experience of using this service:

People were protected from the risk of abuse and avoidable harm because staff had been safely recruited and they knew how to recognise and report abuse. Safe staffing levels were maintained and staff understood how to manage the risks associated with care, including the risks associated with medicines and infection.

Staff had the knowledge and skills required to provide effective care. Care records guided staff in how to meet people’s health, wellbeing and nutritional needs.

Effective systems were in place that ensured people’s consent to care was gained. Where people were unable to consent to their care, the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were followed to ensure decisions were made in people’s best interests.

People were supported by caring staff who supported people to communicate their needs and wishes. This empowered people to make decisions about their care. Staff promoted people’s rights to privacy, dignity and independence.

People were involved in the planning and review of their care and care and support was delivered in line with people’s individual preferences.

Effective systems were in place to ensure lessons were learned from incidents and complaints. Regular checks were made to assess and monitor the quality of care and action was taken when needed to drive improvements to the quality of care.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

The service met the characteristics of Good in all areas; more information is available in the full report below.

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection, the service was rated good. The report for the service’s last inspection was published on 5 April 2016.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the service’s previous rating and was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people received safe, high quality care. Further inspections will be planned for future dates.