Harbour Supported Living Services

Updated 29 August 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Harbour Supported Living is a supported living service. It provides care and support to people living in their own houses and flats 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.

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. The registered manager was not available at the time of our inspection, however we were supported by the operations manager and the service manager.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave a short period notice of the inspection because some of the people using it would need time to consent to a home visit from an inspector.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with eight people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the service manager, operations manager, senior support workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included six people’s care records and medication records. We looked at four 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 reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We contacted a professional who has knowledge of the service.

Updated 29 August 2019

About the service

Harbour is a supported living service. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection, the service was providing support to 95 people in total. Harbour Supported Living provided support to people with mental health conditions and learning disabilities.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service received planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that was appropriate and inclusive for them.

People's experience of using this service and what we found

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

People said they felt safe, medications were well organised and managed, and people had enough staff to support them. Incidents and accidents were documented and analysed for patterns and trends. Risk assessments were informative and contained detailed steps staff were expected to take if they felt someone was at risk of harm.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Staff took part in regular training programmes and underwent supervisions and appraisals.

Staff were kind and caring. People enjoyed being supported by the staff, and they gave us examples of how staff supported them to become more independent

People were encouraged to set their own goals and aspirations. Some people attended community groups, voluntary work or undertook employment. The service actively supported people to live their life in the way they wanted to live it, whilst also encouraging people to develop their independence. People participated in activities and pastimes which were meaningful to them, both in the local and wider community. Staff took the time to get to know what people enjoyed doing and supported people with their chosen activities.

There was a registered manager in place and people spoke positively about them. The manager was aware of their roles and responsibilities. People had been engaged with and asked for their feedback, and there was good partnership working between the registered manager and the service manager. Audits took place and action plans were developed and allocated.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Rating at last inspection

At our last inspection, the service was rated "Good." (Report published 3 November 2016).

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.