Horizon Care Supported Living Limited

Updated 26 June 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 registered provider was 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.

The inspection included a visit to the agency’s office on 18 May 2018. To make sure key staff was available to assist in the inspection the registered provider was given short notice of the visit, in line with our current methodology for inspecting community based services. One adult social care inspector carried out the inspection.

To help us to plan and identify areas to focus on in the inspection we considered all the information we held about the service. This including notifications submitted to us by the registered provider, and information gained from people who had contacted CQC to share feedback about the service. A Provider Information Return (PIR) had been sent to the registered provider for completion. This was returned within the timescale requested. The PIR is a form that asks the registered provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We requested the views of other agencies that worked with the service, such as the local authority contracts team. We also spoke with one health care professional and an independent advocate who had ongoing involvement with some of the people who used the service.

During our inspection we visited the supported living setting and spoke with two of the people who were using the service. We also spoke with staff and managers including the head of care services, the nominated individual, one support worker, the in-house trainer, one senior support worker, and briefly, the deputy manager.

We looked at documentation relating to people who used the service, staff and the management of the service. We checked two people’s care and medication records and five staff files, which included recruitment, training and support records.

Updated 26 June 2018

This comprehensive inspection took place on 18 May 2018. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be at the office.

Horizon Care Supported Living Ltd provides personal care to people living in the community. The service is in the Dinnington area, on the border of Sheffield and Rotherham. Support packages are flexible and based on individual need. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting six people.

This service provides care and support to people living in a ‘supported living’ setting, so that they can live in their own home 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.

At the last inspection in May 2016 the service was rated Good. You can read the report from our last inspections, by selecting the 'all reports' link for ‘Horizon Care Supported Living Ltd’ on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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 rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

The registered provider had appointed a manager, who had commenced the process of applying to CQC. However, they were absent at the time of the inspection and the deputy manager was running the service on day to day basis, with support from the head of care services. This meant the service did not have a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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.

People we spoke with felt safe using the service. We saw that the service was particularly person centred and that risks were well managed. People were safely supported with their medicines. There was a procedure in place to ensure any safeguarding concerns were addressed and reported. There were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs and it was evident that staff had been safely recruited.

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. The service supported people to maintain a healthy diet and people who required the involvement of health care professionals were assisted to obtain this. Staff told us they enjoyed working at the service and had received support, training and supervision to help them to carry out their support role effectively.

People told us the support team were very caring. They said they treated people with respect and dignity, and staff supported them in a way which met their needs. People and their relatives had been involved in formulating support plans.

The service continued to ensure that people’s needs were assessed and support was planned and delivered in line with their individual support plans. People’s plans clearly identified their individual preferences and the areas in which they needed support. It was also evident that staff worked hard to provide people with the support they needed to have a good lifestyle that suited their individual and cultural needs and aspirations. The service continued to ensure that there was an effective and accessible complaints procedure.

The registered provider continued to ensure there was an effective system to monitor the quality of service delivery and of staff performance. People, and those who were important to them, were routinely consulted about their satisfaction in the service they received. It was evident that people’s comments and ideas were used to develop and improve the service. It was also evident that the team worked well in partnership with other professionals, to provide a person centred service that met people’s needs.