Archived: Benholme Supported Living

Kirkland View is a domiciliary care and supported living service providing personal care to people living in and around Kendal. The service supported people in sheltered housing, their own homes and in a shared house. The service specialises in supporting younger adults who may be living with a learning disability and/or autistic spectrum disorder, a physical disability, sensory impairment or who misuse drugs and alcohol. Eleven people were using the service at the time of this inspection.

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

People received safe care from staff that were safely recruited. Staff knew how to manage risks effectively to people, including risks linked to any behaviours that may challenge the service. We made a recommendation about the recording any support provided to people in this area. People’s medicines were managed safely. Any medicine errors, accidents or incidents were used to inform learning at the service, preventing similar issues occurring.

People’s outcomes and feedback about the effectiveness of the service was consistently good. Staff had the necessary knowledge, skills and experience for their roles, which meant people felt confident with their support. People had regular reviews of their care to monitor it and identify any changes needed to meet their needs. People received well coordinated care from the provider, who worked effectively alongside other health and social care professionals.

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. We made a recommendation about the recording of mental capacity assessments and best interest decisions.

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.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of ‘Right support, right care, right culture’. The model of care supported people to have choice, control and independence, including access to their community. People received person-centred care, which promoted their human rights and empowered them. There was an integrated approach to their support across health and social care services. The service had values, attitudes, behaviours and care staff and registered managers that had an inclusive approach,

People were supported by care staff that genuinely cared about them and their wellbeing. Staff used respectful language to communicate with and about the needs of the people they were supporting. They were focused on promoting their rights and ensuring people were not discriminated against. People’s privacy and confidentiality were supported.

People experienced person-centred care that reflect their wishes and preferences. Staff adapted used flexible approaches to support people’s wellbeing. People were part of their local communities. Staff were skilled at understanding and meeting people’s communication needs. Further work was needed to consider people’s future care needs, including end of life wishes.

People received support from care staff who had a clear understanding of the provider’s values and were well-led. The registered managers were committed to delivering high quality care to the people that used the service and welcomed suggestions for making any improvements. The provider had recently acquired a supported living house under the service’s location. The provider was working with the registered manager to ensure a smooth transition and implement the provider’s policies and ways of working.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 20/11/2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on when the service registered.

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.

Kirkland View is a Supported Living Service, providing personal care to up to 10 people who live in their own flats in an apartment complex close to the centre of Kendal. There were ten people receiving personal care at the time of the inspection.

The service only supported people who lived in Kirkland View. Staff were based and managed from within the apartment complex. People lived in their own apartments and could purchase personal care from the on-site service if they wished.

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

People were protected from abuse. Risks to people’s safety had been identified and managed. There were enough staff to support people. The staff gave people the support they needed to take their medicines safely. The staff followed infection prevention and control procedures to protect themselves and people they cared for from the risk of infection. The provider had systems in place to ensure lessons were learnt from any incidents to further improve the safety of the service.

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 guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. People lived in their own homes, with their own tenancies and were supported to maintain control of their own lives. They received person-centred care to support them to achieve positive outcomes. The staff understood the focus of the service was to promote people’s rights and choices.

Right support:

• Model of care and setting maximises people’s choice, control and Independence

Right care:

• Care is person-centred and promotes people’s dignity, privacy and human rights

Right culture:

• Ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives

People received good-quality, person-centred care that met their needs. The management team and provider assessed the quality and safety of the service. They listened to the views of people who used the service, their families and staff to identify how the service could be improved. The staff worked in partnership with other services to ensure people consistently received care that met their needs.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 20/11/2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

The service was registered with us on 20/11/2019 and this was the first inspection for the service.

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.