Archived: Flexible Support Options (Northampton)

We visited three people who were supported in their own home by staff. We saw that they were well cared for and enabled to live independently. We also spoke with five relatives of people supported in their own homes in Northampton. All the people we spoke with said the service provided was good. One person described the support their relative received as 'superb'. Another relative said they had always found the service to be 'well organised'. They said they were 'very happy' that their relative received such good support.

We found that the service provided was appropriately managed and that people received reliable, effective care and support.

The provider may wish to note that people should be advised that the name and registration details of the service provider in Northampton will remain as 'Flexible Support Options' until the Care Quality Commission (CQC) registers 'Aspirations' as the new provider. At the time of this inspection this registration process was still in progress as an application.

We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of those people using the service, because they had complex needs which meant they were not able to tell us about their experiences. The majority of adults had previously lived for many years in a variety of communal 'group' homes, mainly located within National Health Service (NHS) hospital grounds.

We spoke with the parents of four adults who were now supported in their own home by personal assistants provided by 'Flexible Support Options'. They all confirmed that their adult children received a good standard of care and support. One person we spoke with said that the service was "wonderful". They said that their relative had "blossomed" because they had received the help they needed to live independently at home in their local community. Another relative we spoke with commented, "We cannot fault the service provided."