Stroud & District Supported Living Service

Updated 12 December 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This was a comprehensive inspection, carried out by one inspector. The inspection took place on 14 and 21 November 2018 and was unannounced. Prior to the inspection we looked at the information we had about the service. This information included the statutory notifications that the provider had sent to the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We reviewed the Provider Information Record (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, tells us what the service does well and the improvements they plan to make.

During our inspection we observed the care being provided to five people living at The Gables. We also visited nine people living in their own homes. We had feedback from eight people and two visitors about the care and support provided. We spoke with both of the registered managers, a deputy manager, six members of staff and a board trustee. We looked at the care records for six people, including their medicines records. We looked at the recruitment record for six members of staff, training records and quality assurance systems.

Updated 12 December 2018

The Gables is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The Gables is also the registered address for a service which also provides care and support to people living in four ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live in their own home as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection also looked at the personal care and support provided to people in the supported living setting.

The Gables can accommodate up to five people who have a learning disability and autism. At the time of our inspection five people were living there. People at The Gables had their own bedrooms with access to a shower and bathroom. They shared a lounge and two dining rooms. Grounds around the property were accessible. The supported living settings can accommodate up to 24 people who have a learning disability in four houses within the locality of Stroud.

The Gables had been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support, Building 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 lived as ordinary a life as any citizen.

This inspection took place on 14 and 21 November 2018. At the last comprehensive inspection in March 2016 the service was rated as Good overall. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

There were two registered managers in post to manage the two services. They had been registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in 2010. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager of the supported living service was also the Group Manager for all services provided by Stroud and District Homes Foundation Limited.

People’s care and support individualised, reflecting their personal wishes and lifestyle choices. They were treated with compassion, kindness and care. They had positive relationships with staff, who understood them well. People enjoyed being in the company of staff. The atmosphere in their homes was light hearted with much laughter and happiness. Staff understood and respected people’s diverse needs. Staff knew how to keep people safe and how to raise safeguarding concerns. Risks were well managed encouraging people’s independence. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Staff recruitment and selection procedures were satisfactory with the necessary checks being completed prior to employment.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. They made choices about their day to day lives. People and those important to them were involved in the planning and review of their care and support. They chose the activities they wish to take part in. They said they liked to work on a farm, to the gym and to garden centres. They went on holidays, day trips, to social clubs and local places of worship. People kept in touch with those important to them.

People’s preferred forms of communication were promoted. Staff were observed effectively communicating with people, taking time to engage with them. Good use was made of easy to read information which used photographs and pictures to illustrate the text. People had access to easy to read guides about safeguarding, complaints, staff on duty, activities and menus.

People’s health and wellbeing was promoted. A weekly menu encouraged people to have vegetables and fruit in their diet. Special diets were catered for. People helped to prepare and cook their meals. They had access to a range of health care professionals and had annual health checks. People’s medicines were safely managed. People had expressed their wishes about how they would like to be cared for at the end of their life.

People’s views and those of their relatives and staff were sought to monitor the quality of the service. This was provided through quality assurance surveys, reviews, meetings, complaints and compliments. People had information about how to raise a complaint. The registered managers and board of trustees completed a range of quality assurance audits to monitor and assess people’s experience of the service. Any actions identified for improvement were monitored to ensure they had been carried out. The registered managers worked closely with local organisations and agencies and national organisations to keep up to date with current best practice and guidance. Comments about The Gables included, “I have been really impressed with the care,” “It’s brilliant; it’s magic” and “It’s amazing.”

Further information is in the detailed findings below.