Updated 28 December 2018
The Inspection ¿ 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.
The inspection team ¿ Consisted of an adult social care inspector and an expert by experience.
An expert by experience had experience of caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The expert by experience had a background supporting older people.
Service and service type ¿ This service provides personal care to people living in their own homes and flats. It also provides support for 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 for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s care and support.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection ¿ This comprehensive inspection visit took place on 04 and 5th December 2018 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provided a domiciliary care service to people who lived in the community. We needed to be sure that we could access the office premises.
What we did preparing for and carrying out this inspection ¿ Before our inspection we completed our planning; tool and reviewed the information we held on the service. This included notifications we had received from the provider, about incidents that affect the health, safety and welfare of people supported by the service and previous inspection reports.
We also checked to see if any information concerning the care and welfare of people supported by the service had been received. We contacted the commissioning departments who used the service. This helped us to gain a balanced overview of what people experienced accessing the service.
As part of the inspection we used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
During the inspection visit we spoke with a range of people about Creative Support and visited two supported houses. They included 11 people who used the service, the registered manager, area manager and the care co-ordinator. We also spoke with four relatives of people who used the service, nine support staff and two social care professionals. In addition, we spoke with two senior care staff who managed supported houses.
We looked at records relating to the management of the service. We did this to ensure the management team had oversight of the service and they could respond to any concerns highlighted or lead the agency in ongoing improvements. We also looked at staffing levels and recruitment procedures for staff and focussed on how staff provided care within the supported homes.