Archived: Your Life Supported Living Services

Updated 15 July 2022

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

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Your Life Supported Living Services provides care and support to people living in one ‘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.

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 not a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

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

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. 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 joined the person who used the service for lunch. This person used a range of ways to communicate such as pictures, photos and body language. We also observed staff interaction with people.

We spoke with the manager, one care staff and the nominated individual who was also the provider. 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 one person’s care records and medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including quality checks and audits were reviewed.

After the inspection

We telephoned an additional member of the care staff team.

Updated 15 July 2022

About the service

Your Life Supported Living Services is a supported living service providing personal care to one person at the time of the inspection.

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

People’s body language and facial expressions indicated they were relaxed and at ease in their home. People were supported by a small team of consistent staff, who knew them well. This was particularly important to autistic people who became anxious if there were unplanned changes to their daily routines. People benefitted from being supported by staff who knew how to communicate effectively with them.

Governance processes were not always effective in monitoring the quality of care. Some of people’s key records with regards to their health and safety were not up to date. None of the providers policies had been reviewed since 2020. There had not been a registered manager at the service for 19 months. The registration process ensures managers have the knowledge, skills and experience to manage a care service. The service was being managed jointly by a part-time manager and the provider.

Staff had received training in supporting people with disabilities and understood how to reduce people’s anxieties. People were being supported to access the health care services they required.

People’s activities had reduced due to the pandemic and these were being re-introduced gradually. Staff were looking into activities to extend people’s social network.

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.

The service was not able to demonstrate how they were meeting some of the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture (RSRCRC).

Right support: Staff had not supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision-making. Decision making processes did not include key information about how people had been involved in making decisions. People’s goals and aspirations were understood by staff, but these had yet to be recorded so progress towards them could be monitored. People were supported by staff to pursue their interests. People’s days were structured around their needs. Staff communicated with people in ways they understood. People had decorated their rooms according to their personal taste.

Right care: People received kind and compassionate care and from staff who respected their dignity. People could communicate with staff because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. There were enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe.

Right culture: People’s wishes, needs and rights were not always put at the heart of the service as the provider had situated their main office in people’s homes. The model of supported living is that people’s rather than the provider’s concerns come first. Staff turnover was very low, which supported people to receive consistent care from staff who knew them well.

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 December 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of Right support right care right culture. This is the service’s first inspection since registering with the Care Quality Commission.