Choice Supported Living - West Midlands

Choice Supported Living - West Midlands is a supported living service providing the regulated activity of personal care to five people at the time of the inspection.

There were three supported living settings; one setting was shared by three people and two people lived alone. People were supported by staff during the day and night. 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.

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

One person told us they felt safe and we saw other people were at ease around one another and staff. Staff understood how to reduce people’s risks and to provide safe care. Systems ensured concerns related to people’s safety and potential abuse were appropriately escalated. Relatives and staff told us people received safe support with their medicines however we have made a recommendation about medicines management because systems were not robust. Relatives told us people’s homes were kept clean and a home we visited reflected this. Recruitment checks were carried out safely.

People’s needs had been assessed and were known to staff including how to safely prepare people’s meals. Staff felt they had the support and training needed for their roles. People had been supported to have their homes adapted to meet their needs and to access healthcare support when needed. 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.

We saw, and relatives told us, people were well supported and treated by staff. The service had taken extra steps to support people when they might be distressed, for example during hospital stays. People were supported to have their views heard and to be involved in decisions about their care. People’s privacy and dignity was promoted.

The service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

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.

Care was planned to meet people’s needs and preferences and to promote good outcomes. This included encouragement to get involved in activities and social events. People’s communication needs were understood and met. Complaints had been appropriately responded to.

Relatives and staff described an open, inclusive service centred around meeting people’s needs. We found some inconsistencies in staff knowledge and how records and audits were completed. This did not always promote the quality and safety of the service as far as possible. The provider notified us of events and incidents as required although we had to prompt one recent incident which had not yet been shared with us. The registered manager understood their responsibilities to the CQC and took action in response to our inspection findings to help continuously improve the service.

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 (published November 2016).

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.

The service is registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of the inspection the service was providing personal care to 5 people who were living in their own home’s within three separate ‘supported living’ facilities.

There was a registered manager in post and they were present during 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.

There were systems in place to ensure that the service was assessed and the quality of care provided to people was monitored. We found that these had not always identified where some improvements were needed. However, we found that the registered manager was responsive and took action to ensure improvements were made.

People felt safe using the service and they were protected from the risk of abuse because the provider had systems in place to minimise the risk of abuse.

People were supported by staff that were kind, caring and respectful and knew them well. People were treated with dignity and respect. People were supported to make everyday decisions themselves, which helped them to maintain their independence.

Staff understood people’s needs well. Staff received the training and support they needed to carry out their role. Staff had a good understanding of risks associated with people’s care needs and knew how to support them. There were enough staff to support people safely. Recruitment procedures ensured that only staff of a suitable character to care for people were employed.