St Alex Support Limited

Updated 3 July 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

This service provides care and support to people living in seven ‘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.

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

We gave the service 24 hours' notice of the inspection visit to ensure the manager would be present and to help arrange visits to where people were receiving the service, as the service is spread across a wide geographical area.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection we looked at information that we had received about the service and formal notifications that the service had sent to CQC. We reviewed the Provider Information Return (PIR) which the provider had sent to us. A PIR is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and the improvements they plan to make. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

Inspection site visit activity started on 18 April 2019 and ended on 30 April 2019. On 8 May 2019 we made telephone calls to relatives. We visited two schemes in Enfield. We also visited the head office to review paperwork.

During the inspection

We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager, the compliance manager, the administration assistant and three care staff. We also spoke with three people that used the service. We looked at three care records and risk assessments, three people’s medicine records, six staff files and other paperwork related to the management of the service including staff training, quality assurance and rota systems.

After the inspection

We spoke with five relatives of people that used the service.

Updated 3 July 2019

About the service

St. Alex Support Limited provides care and support to people living with a mental health condition. Care is provided in seven locations across North London. Each location is a residential house within which people have their own flats.

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 the inspection there were five people receiving a regulated activity.

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

People were positive that they felt safe with the staff at St. Alex Support Limited. There were detailed risk assessments that allowed staff to understand how to minimise people’s known risks. People’s medicines were managed safely, and people received their medicines on time. Staff were recruited safely to ensure that people were safe.

Staff were positive about the training and support that they received. Staff had regular supervision, appraisal and training to support them in their role. 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. People were supported to plan, shop and prepare meals within their budgets.

People and relatives told us that they felt staff were genuinely compassionate and caring and we received positive feedback. Staff understood how to support people of differing cultures and faiths. People’s dignity was upheld, and people told us that they felt respected by the staff that supported them. People were involved in planning their care.

There was good management oversight of the service. Regular checks were completed to ensure the quality of care. Where issues were found we saw that these were addressed in a timely way. The service actively asked people, relatives and staff for their opinions of the service and how it could be improved. People were positive about how the service was run and the care that they received.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (28 April 2017)

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.