Thera East Midlands

Updated 10 July 2021

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 inspection was carried out by one inspector, one assistant 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.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in 64 ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

The service had five managers registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection because it is a large service and there are five registered managers. We needed to be sure all of the registered managers and the nominated individual would be available to speak with and to assist us to set up video and telephone calls with people who use the service, their relatives and staff.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used 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 11 people who used the service, three family members, 12 staff including the nominated individual (the nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider), five registered managers, the service quality manager, community support leaders, support workers and recruitment staff. We visited the head office on 7 May 2021 and used video calls and telephone calls to speak with people, relatives and staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 10 July 2021

About the service

Thera East Midlands provides care and support to people with a learning disability living in supported living accommodation. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting 297 people.

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

People were supported to be safe and protected from discrimination. Safety was a high priority for managers and staff, systems and processes to identify risk or potential abuse were robust. Peoples freedom was respected, and they were supported to be as independent as they could be.

There were enough staff with the right skill mix to meet people’s needs and support them to stay safe. People were supported to have their medicines at the right time in in the right way. Staff ensured people’s medicines were regularly reviewed to make sure they were still working effectively and that any benefits outweighed any side effects.

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 expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

People were supported in in a person-centred way. The culture of the service was empowering and inclusive. Staff promoted people’s human rights and protected people’s privacy and dignity. People were consulted and included in decisions about their care and support and about the development of the service.

Staff knew how to communicate with people effectively and understood people’s needs well. People led active lives and were able to follow the hobbies and interests they enjoyed. Where possible people accessed learning and education. People liked the staff and had confidence in them.

There was a strong framework of accountability and systems to monitor the quality of the service were well embedded into the running of the service. There was a clear organisational structure and staff understood their responsibilities. People, staff and relatives told us managers were supportive, approachable and accessible. A relative said, “I am delighted with the care and if there any issues or if there’s something I am not happy with I will contact the registered manager.”

Performance management processes were effective, reviewed regularly, and reflected best practice. Managers provided feedback to staff and there was clear evidence this led to improvement and good outcomes for people.

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 30 May 2019).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the management of people’s medicines. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the ‘safe’ and ‘well led’ sections of this full report.

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.