Archived: Century Way

Updated 7 November 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

The team consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type

Century Way is a supported living service. This service provides care and support to people living in two ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection and asked for feedback from the local authority who commissions from the service. We reviewed the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service, two members of care staff, the registered manager and a quality improvement manager. We observed the care provided in the communal areas.

We reviewed two care plans and a range of records related to the management of the service such as medicines records, staff training records and minutes of meetings.

After the inspection

We spoke with two relatives of people using the service and a health professional to gather their views about the service.

Updated 7 November 2019

About the service

Century Way is a 'supported living' service that provides care and support to people living in a tenancy arrangement with a housing association in two separate next door houses in the community. There is an office in one of the houses from where the service is run. The service was registered for the support of up to four people in line with current best practice guidance. Four people were using the service at the time of the inspection.

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.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

The Secretary of State has asked the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to conduct a thematic review and to make recommendations about the use of restrictive interventions in settings that provide care for people with or who might have mental health problems, learning disabilities and/or autism. Thematic reviews look in-depth at specific issues concerning quality of care across the health and social care sectors. They expand our understanding of both good and poor practice and of the potential drivers of improvement.

As part of thematic review, we carried out a survey with the registered manager at this inspection. This considered whether the service used any restrictive intervention practices (restraint, seclusion and segregation) when supporting people. The service used positive behaviour support principles to support people in the least restrictive way. No restrictive intervention practices were used.

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

At this inspection the registered manager had acted on the issues found at the last inspection and submitted notifications to the Commission as required under the regulations. Issues we had found needed improvement in respect of medicines management at the previous inspection had also been acted on and medicines were safely managed.

However, we found some improvement was needed in the way the service worked in partnership with the housing association to ensure there were robust systems to manage the safety of the service. There were high levels of agency staff in use and gaps in management presence as the registered manager worked across two sites. There was no deputy manager to provide additional management support at the time of the inspection; although the post was being recruited to. We discussed the impact of this with the provider. We found this had already been identified and was in the process of being addressed. We will check on this through our monitoring of the service and at the next inspection.

People told us they felt safe from harm and staff understood their responsibilities under safeguarding procedures. Risks to people were identified assessed and guidance provided to staff on how to minimise the risks. There was a system to flag and review accident and incident reports to ensure suitable action was taken and learning identified. Staff understood how to protect people from the risk of infection.

Relatives and professionals identified there was a high staff turnover and regular use of agency staff. The provider told us they had prioritised recruitment to fill these vacancies and they were working hard to recruit the right staff. There were enough staff to meet people’s care and support needs. Appropriate recruitment checks took place before staff started work.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. For example, in the way it assessed people’s needs and worked with people to identify goals that increased their confidence and independence.

Staff received adequate training and support to meet people’s needs. People’s nutritional needs were met. People had access to health and social care professionals as required. 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 by staff who were kind and caring. People were involved and consulted about their care and support needs and treated with respect and dignity. Staff worked with people to promote their rights. Staff understood their role in supporting people appropriately, addressing any protected characteristics. People were supported to be as independent as possible.

People had a personalised plan of care to guide staff on how to meet their needs. People’s communication needs were assessed. People were supported to access community services and to participate in activities of their choosing that met their needs. 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.

There were systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service. The registered manager promoted an open and inclusive service. Staff spoke highly of the registered manager. The service worked in partnership with health and social care professionals to plan and deliver an effective service that met people’s needs. People and their relatives’ views about the service were sought and the feedback used to consider improvements.

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

Rating at last inspection (and update)

The last rating for this service was ‘Requires Improvement’ (published 16 October 2018)

The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. Since this inspection the name of the registered provider has changed. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

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.