Background to this inspection
Updated
12 March 2020
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
One inspector visited supported living houses to see records, meet staff and people.
Service and service type
This service provides care and support to people living in two supported living settings, comprising of two houses, 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 a manager 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
A comprehensive inspection took place on 18 February 2020 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours' notice of the inspection visit because we needed to be sure that staff would be available for us to speak with and to arrange for us to visit people with their permission.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed the previous inspection report and notifications received from the service before the inspection. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. On this occasion we did not ask the provider to complete a Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We arranged a visit to the supported living houses, so we could meet staff and people, we were able to observe staff and people interacting during our visit. We spoke with three people and a visiting relative.
We spoke with five members of staff, including the registered manager, manager and support workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s support records and one medication record. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
After the inspection, we spoke to a relative by telephone. We reviewed records for staff training and staffing.
Updated
12 March 2020
About the service
Dyke Road Community Support Services provides personal care to 13 adults at the time of the inspection
All people receiving care had a learning disability and additional needs such as dementia, mental health needs, sensory impairment, learning disability, autistic spectrum disorder, physical disability, Multiple Sclerosis or conditions related to old age and frailty.
People who use the service lived in two supported living houses. At the time of our inspection, 13 people lived across the two houses. The Care Quality Commission inspects the care and support the service provides to adults but does not inspect the accommodation they live in. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care, this is help with tasks related to personal hygiene, medicines and eating.
The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support in the following ways; promotion of choice and control, independence and inclusion. 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 lived in supported living houses where seven people or less lived. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us that staff supported them and that staff were caring, a person said, “I have lots of support here, that’s good”. A relative said, “It’s super here, the care is excellent, [Person] is safe, I can’t fault the care.” Another relative told us, “They (staff) put the resident first.”
People's support focused on promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. 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 observed positive, friendly interactions between people and staff. Staff respected people and treated them with dignity and kindness. The culture of the service was positive, and person centred. People's independence was promoted and privacy respected.
People's needs were assessed before moving in and planned for. People had access to health and social care support, and staff worked with external professionals to support people. A relative told us, “She sees a physiotherapist and goes to hydrotherapy, she’s seen a dentist, she sees [specialist nurse].”
People received personalised care that was tailored to meet their individual needs, preferences and choices. Person centred support plans were detailed and guided staff about people's needs and how to meet them. People’s rooms were personalised to reflect people’s interests and decoration choices. People had access to communal lounges, dining rooms and a sensory room.
People's risks were identified and assessed appropriately such as accessing the community, money management and meeting strangers and staying safe. People were supported to take positive risks and staff had a value to not let identified risks to restrict people’s lives, a support worker told us, “They [people] have the choice to make poor choices or choose something we do not agree with, they have the right to do that”.
People were safe and were supported by staff who were trained to recognise the signs of any potential abuse. Staff had been trained in safeguarding and knew what action to take if they had any concerns about people's safety or welfare.
There were sufficient staff to meet people's needs. People were supported by staff whose suitability to work in the care sector was checked. Staff completed training that reflected people’s varied needs and ensured effective care to people. Staff received regular supervisions and told us they felt supported.
People and relatives knew how to make complaints and raise concerns and told us they felt listened to by staff. A person said, “If I’m unhappy about anything I can tell any of the staff or manager.” A relative said, “I have no concerns, if there is anything I speak to the staff and they see to it immediately.”
When things went wrong such as accidents and incidents, lessons were learnt. People were asked for their feedback about the service through house meetings, reviews, annual surveys and a suggestion box.
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 Requires Improvement (published 19 March 2019).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
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.