25 April 2022
During a routine inspection
About the service
53 West Park provides personal care to people with a learning disability and autistic people in a supported living setting. People using the service have their own bed sits with some shared communal facilities. 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.
The service accommodates nine people in total, four of whom were receiving the regulated activity, personal care at the time of the inspection.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The service did not demonstrate they consistently met the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.
Right Support
Arrangements to support people to make decisions did not follow best practice guidance or the law. Risks to people were not always identified. Safe infection control practice was not consistently followed.
There were sufficient numbers of suitably skilled staff who knew people well and communicated with people in ways that met their needs.
The model of care and setting supported people's choice, control and independence. People had their own en-suite bedsits with separate cooking facilities as well as a communal kitchen which allowed varying degrees of independence and choice.
Right Care
Records did not always evidence if or how people were supported to identify or achieve their aspirations and goals.
Medicines were safely managed. Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community. The service worked with people to plan for when they experienced periods of distress or anxiety.
Staff knew how to protect people from poor care or abuse. Staff had training on equality and diversity and considered people’s diverse needs to provide appropriate care.
People's care, treatment and support plans reflected their needs. Staff knew people well and treated them with consideration and care.
Right culture
We saw there had been some improvements made at the service. The provider evaluated and audited the quality of support provided to people, involving them, their families and other professionals as appropriate. An action plan had been developed to address areas for improvement. However, improvements were needed to ensure the quality assurance system was fully effective.
People were engaged in a range of activities both inside and outside the service. However, aspects of the service felt like a care home rather than supported living. The service did not always proactively consider aspects of people’s support needs with a view to increasing their autonomy and empowering them to lead fuller lives in the community.
People, their relatives and staff were all positive in the feedback they gave about the registered manager. The registered manager told us she had been working to address the culture and knew there was further work to do.
People’s views about the service were sought through tenants’ meetings and key worker sessions. However, people were not fully engaged in the running of the service
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Why we inspected
We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of Right support right care right culture.
Enforcement and Recommendations
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.
We have identified breaches in relation to identifying risks and seeking consent at this inspection
Follow up
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.