About the service Thera North is a supported living service, providing personal care and support to people in their own homes in the northern counties of Lancashire, Cumbria and Durham. Not everyone using the service receives personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where people receive personal care, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection, the service was supporting 59 people, living in 23 supported living settings. However, only 42 people were receiving personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People felt safe with staff, and relatives told us people received safe care. The provider recruited staff safely and staff knew how to protect people from abuse and avoidable harm. Staff managed risks to people’s health and wellbeing appropriately. Staff administered people’s medicines safely and checked people’s equipment and home environment regularly to ensure it was safe.
Staff completed the induction and training needed to support people effectively. Staff supported people to eat and drink enough and ensured they received appropriate support with their healthcare needs. Staff referred people to community professionals when they needed additional support. 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 liked the staff who supported them, and relatives told us staff were caring and kind. Staff respected people's right to privacy and dignity and encouraged them to become more independent when it was safe to do so. They respected people's diversity and involved people in decisions about their care.
People were supported by staff who knew them well and provided them with individualised support that reflected their needs and preferences. Staff supported people to maintain relationships that were important to them and people had developed positive relationships with staff. Staff supported people to follow their interests and develop new skills. They offered people choices and encouraged them to make decisions about their care when they were able to. Complaints were managed appropriately, and any lessons learned were shared with staff.
Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities and provided support which helped people achieve good outcomes. They worked in partnership with a variety of agencies to ensure people received the support they needed. People and relatives were happy with how the service was being managed. Staff told us management had improved significantly at the service, and they felt valued and well supported by the registered managers and provider. The provider had effective oversight of the service and the support that staff provided to people. A number of improvements to the service were planned.
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 17 February 2017). Since this rating was awarded, the registered provider of the service has changed. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the service’s date of registration.
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.