Archived: Reach Supported Living Limited

There was no registered manager currently shown on our records. They had recently left the service. A new manager was in place, and was in the process of submitting an application to become the registered manager, to the Care Quality Commission. Senior members of staff, known as team managers were responsible for the day to day management of a number of locations, and reported directly to the new manager.

We visited the registered office, one house that provided support for three people and one house that provided support for seven people. We met with the new manager, two team managers, five care support workers and six people who used the service. We reviewed four care plans, four staff files and other relevant records. We reviewed contract monitoring visit reports from the county council.

A single inspector carried out the inspection. The focus of the inspection was to answer five questions: Is the service safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

Is the service safe?

Staff told us they had received training about safeguarding vulnerable people. They were able to describe different types of abuse, and how they would recognise if a person was being abused. They told us they would report concerns to senior staff or they may also report directly to the local authority if needed. Contact telephone numbers were available and accessible to staff.

We spoke with people who used the service. They told us they felt safe. They appeared comfortable in their homes, and told us the name of the team manager they would speak with if they had any concerns.

Is the service effective?

We spoke with staff who told us they had completed an induction programme. They told us that this included training that was mandatory, such as fire safety, introduction to the policies and procedures, health and safety and medication management. We saw from the training records that on-going training was provided for staff.

We found that one to one meetings were inconsistently completed in one location.

We spoke with staff who all told us they felt well supported in that they could pick up the phone at any time and speak to their line manager for advice and guidance or to report an issue if needed.

We saw involvement from other health professionals. We saw the local authority had completed a review in May 2014. We saw involvement from the Community Learning Disability Team (CLDT), and this was recorded in the care records.

Is the service caring?

We spoke with staff who told us how important they believed it was to show respect for people they were supporting. They gave us examples of how they did demonstrated respect. We saw they had good interactions with the people they were supporting.

We saw an entry in three care records that did not demonstrate people's equality, diversity and human rights were respected. The new manager told us they would take action to address this issue.

Is the service responsive?

People had their needs assessed on a regular basis. There were systems in place to monitor the service on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis. We saw that some of these checks were still to be implemented in a timely manner.

We saw there was a detailed complaints policy in place. We were told, although there had been no complaints in recent months, that people were supported to provide feedback about their concerns. Most of the people we spoke with were able to express their views. They gave us positive feedback about the quality of the service they received.

Is the service well-led?

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. We found that some, but not all of these systems were being used. In one location, aspects of the service were monitored informally. Staff told us they were supported, but there was a lack of written evidence to confirm that monitoring had taken place in accordance with the requirements of the providers' policies and procedures.

We saw that accidents, incidents and complaints were monitored. A safeguarding file was maintained, and was up to date.

People told us that the staff were reliable and arrived on time. We were told the staff treated them in a respectful and friendly manner. People told us they felt felt safe receiving a service from Reach.

We saw that the service had effective and appropriate sytems in place for recruiting staff and completing the required pre-employment checks.

The provider had systems in place to monitor and audit the quality of service provided.

The service had a complaints policy and procedure in place and people who used the service and their relatives felt confident about raising concerns or issues.

The service had an effective recruitment policy in place that ensured that all new staff were correctly interviewed and the appropriate checks completed before they commenced their employment.