Updated 17 October 2023
The inspection
We carried out this performance review and assessment under Section 46 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act). We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements of the regulations associated with the Act and looked at the quality of the service to provide a rating.
Inspection team
This inspection was carried out by 1 inspector, 2 medicine inspectors. and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Service and service type
This service provides care and support to people living in ‘supported living’ settings 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.
Registered Manager
This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.
At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 26 July 2023 and ended on 21 August 2023. We visited the location’s service on 26 and 27 July 2023.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we have received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with 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 communicated with 4 people who used the service and 7 relatives about their experience of the care provided. In some cases people who used the service were unable to talk with us, so we used different ways of communicating including using Makaton (a type of sign language), pictures, photos, symbols, objects and their body language. We are improving how we hear people's experience and views on services, when they have limited verbal communication. We have trained some CQC team members to use a symbol-based communication tool. We checked that this was a suitable communication method, and that people were happy to use it with us. We did this by reading their care and communication plans and speaking to staff or relatives and the person themselves. For this inspection, we used this communication tool with 1 person to tell us about their experience. We spoke with 12 members of staff including the registered manager, managers and support workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.