Archived: Reach Supported Living Limited - Salisbury

Updated 3 December 2016

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.

This inspection took place on 11 October 2016. This was an announced inspection which meant the provider had prior notice that we would be visiting. This was because the location provides a supported living service to people in their own homes, and we wanted to make sure the provider would be available to support our inspection, or someone who could act on their behalf.

The inspection team consisted of one inspector 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. An inspection of the office from which the service was run took place and visits were made to people living in three shared bungalows. Phone calls were also made to people’s relatives to gain their feedback and health professionals were contacted. The service was previously inspected on 24 June 2014 and was found to be meeting all standards checked. The service has since moved location and the provider was part of a merger which sits under The Pobl Group. This inspection was the service's first rated inspection.

Before the inspection we checked the information we held about the service and the service provider. This included statutory notifications sent to us by the provider about incidents and events that had occurred at the service. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We used all this information to decide which areas to focus on during our inspection.

During our inspection we spoke with five people being supported by the service, three relatives, five staff members and one housing manager who had worked alongside the service. We also spoke with the registered manager and the team manager. We reviewed records relating to people's care and other records relating to the management of the service. These included the care records for five people, five staff files and a selection of the provider's policies.

Updated 3 December 2016

Reach Supported Living Limited Salisbury is a supported and independent living service providing extra care and domiciliary support services to eight people with learning disabilities and (or) additional physical or behavioural difficulties. People have their own tenancies in three shared bungalows and are supported by staff, with 24 hour care.

This inspection took place on 11 October 2016. This was an announced inspection which meant the provider had prior knowledge that we would be visiting the service. This was because the location provides a supported living service to people in shared accommodation and we wanted to make sure the manager would be available to support our inspection, or someone who could act on their behalf.

At the time of our inspection a registered manager was in place at the service. 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. The registered manager and the team manager were both available throughout the inspection.

Systems were in place to manage risk and protect people from abuse. Staff were aware of their responsibilities and knew what actions they needed to take to ensure people were protected.

We saw two examples of unsafe practice relating to medicine management concerning the recording of people’s medicine and the storing of one person’s medicine. We raised these with the registered manager and team manager who took immediate action to address these concerns. All other medicine practices were safely managed.

Staff were appropriately trained and skilled. They received a thorough induction when they started working for the service. They demonstrated a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Staff had completed training to ensure the care and support provided to people was safe and effective to meet their needs.

People received care and support from staff who had got to know them well and who encouraged their independence to be maintained. People told us they were happy with the care they received commenting “I like living here I’m happy” and “I know all the staff and I’m happy to talk to them”.

Staff knew people’s individual communication skills and abilities and had taken steps to ensure people could communicate in ways that were appropriate for them. Details of how to communicate with the person appropriately and actions to take were recorded and this was regularly reviewed and evaluated.

Care plans were personalised and detailed daily routines specific to each person. People’s likes and dislikes were clearly recorded and captured events that were meaningful to people in the way they wanted staff to support them. The service had spent time finding out about people’s favourite music, activities and routines in order to provide person centred care that met their current and developing needs.

During our inspection we saw that notifiable incidents had not always been reported to the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The service had not reported two notifications of abuse or allegation of abuse. The registered manager told us “In addition to reporting incidents to the local authority and vulnerable Adults Team we will ensure that all notifications will be sent to CQC”.