12 April 2022
During a routine inspection
About the service
Safe Sanctuary Living Ltd supports people to live in the community. At the time of the inspection
three people were receiving support. The support varied from a few hours to 24 hours a day. People lived in their own home around Nottinghamshire. 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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support
Although the risk assessments were reviewed, they did not always effectively identify all shortfalls noted by our inspectors. Not all risks had been considered in relation to people’s health and social care needs. Medicines management processes did not follow best practice guidance.
The service supported people to have as much choice, control and independence as possible. Staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful life.
People were asked how they would like to receive support including making reasonable adjustments so that they could access activities in different areas.
Right Care
The service had enough staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. The staff received mandatory training; however further training was required to enhance staff’s understanding of autism. Since the inspection, the provider arranged additional training on understanding autism for all staff.
Staff promoted equality and diversity in their support for people. They understood people’s cultural needs, provided culturally appropriate care and respected people’s privacy and dignity.
People received kind and compassionate care.
Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to report any concerns. The service worked well with other agencies to protect people from poor care and abuse.
Staff and people cooperated to assess risks people might face. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks, for example using public transport.
Right culture
Not all staff knew and fully understood people’s needs. Some staff were not aware of people’s health issues described in their care plans.
Not all people and those important to them felt fully involved in planning their care. We identified occasions where people’s families could have been communicated with more effectively. Provider was keen to make changes and ensure everyone felt more involved. Following the inspections, the management evaluated the quality of support provided to people, involving the person, their families and other professionals.
The provider faced recruitment challenges due to current pressures in the health and social care sector and, at times it was difficult for the provider to recruit the gender of staff in line with people’s preferences. The service actively tried to recruit permanent staff to ensure consistency of care.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the quality of care. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
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 safe care and treatment and good governance at this inspection.
Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
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.