Supported Living Service

Updated 5 March 2019

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 at the offices of the service on 17 December 2018 and 21 January 2019. On the 2 and 3 January 2019 we visited eight people at their homes. All of these visits were announced as we needed to make sure that people we needed to speak with were available.

The inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector.

Prior to the inspection we reviewed the information that we had received from the registered provider which included statutory notifications, safeguarding alerts and information from other agencies.

We looked at records relating to people's care and support needs, medicines records and people's care plans. In addition, we looked at records maintained in relation to the management of the service and policies and procedures.

Prior to the inspection the registered manager had completed a provider information return (PIR). This document gave the service the opportunity to tell us what they do well, areas of planned improvement and the services plans for the future. As part of the PIR process seven health care professionals had completed a questionnaire about their experiences about the service. We contacted St Helens Healthwatch who told us that they had no recent information relating to the service.

Updated 5 March 2019

Supported Living Service provides personal care and supported living services for people living in their own homes. Thirty people were in receipt of a regulated activity at the time of this inspection.

The service had been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with a learning disability were supported to live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

At our last inspection in April 2016 we rated the service as good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated Good.

Feedback provided from people included “I’m safe”, “Staff know me and keep me safe when needed” and “They keep me safe and warm.” People told us that they liked the staff that supported them and thought they were caring. Their comments included, “Staff are nice”, “They [staff] are kind when I get upset” and “I like them and they like me, we have fun.”

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice. Procedures were in place to protect people from abuse and staff had a good understanding of these procedures. People's medicines were safely managed to ensure that they received their medicines when they should. Safe recruitment procedures remained in place to help ensure that only people suitable for the role were employed to deliver care and support to people.

People told us that staff always asked their permission prior to carrying out any activity or task. Staff had a clear understanding of a person centred approach to care by ensuring that people’s consent was sought at all times and their lifestyle choices were adhered to. There had been a delay in the registered provider applying to the Court of Protection for the renewal of Deprivation of Liberty (DoLS) authorisations in place under the Mental Capacity Act. This had been identified by the registered manager and was addressed at the time of this inspection.

Assessments of people’s needs took place on a regular basis and were used to identify any new or changes to people’s needs and wishes. People told us they were involved in assessments and reviews of their care needs. Care plans contained detailed information that staff needed to know to ensure assist people with their care and support in the way they preferred. People's care and support continued to be delivered by staff who received regular training and supervision for their role.

Staff supported people in a manner that promoted their independence by maintaining and developing new skills. Staff continued to show a good knowledge and understanding of the people they supported.

People continued to be fully involved in planning their own care and support and making decision about how their needs were met. With the support of the staff team, people set goals that they wished to achieve. Each person had their own care plan which detailed their needs, wishes, took into account people’s lifestyle choices, views and preferences . Each plan clearly detailed what support people needed and how staff were to delivered this support as the person wanted. A complaints procedure was in place which people had access to.

The registered manager continued to oversee the service provided to people and demonstrated a thorough knowledge of the legislation in place to provide safe, effective care to people using the service. Staff spoke positively about the support they received from the management team. Staff told us they were proud and enjoyed working at the service as it was well managed. Policies and procedures remained in place to offer best practice guidance and advice to staff in relation to their role. The service had access to the registered provider’s human resource and health and safety departments that provided up to date guidance and support.