Enablement Care Supported Living Services provides supports to people with mental health needs and learning disabilities. The service provides support to people living in shared houses in Harrow and Hertfordshire. When we inspected the service was providing support to up to 12 people living in three shared houses. People had their own bedrooms and shared other facilities including kitchens and living and dining areas. Each house has an office/sleep in room for staff.
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 told us they were treated with respect and their support was personalised. They told us staff understood and supported their individual needs and preferences. Staff demonstrated understanding of people’s needs. We observed positive interactions between people and staff.
Systems were in place to protect people from harm or abuse. The service’s safeguarding policies and procedures were supported by training for staff. People had personalised risk assessments to ensure they remained safe whilst maintaining their independence.
Appropriate infection control procedures were in place. Staff had received training in infection prevention and control and wore masks and other personal protection equipment in a suitable way. Regular COVID-19 testing was provided to people and staff.
Where people required support with their medicines this was provided by staff who had received appropriate training and whose competency in administering medicines had been assessed. People’s medicines were safely stored, recorded correctly and monitored.
The provider ensured that there were enough suitably skilled staff to provide people with the support they needed. Appropriate recruitment processes helped ensure suitable staff were employed to provide support to people using the service. People spoke positively about the support they received from staff.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. 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 statutory guidance which supports CQC 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.
Right support:
• Model of care and setting maximises people’s choice, control and independence
Right care:
• Care is person-centred and promotes people’s dignity, privacy and human rights
Right culture:
• Ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives
People with learning disabilities lived in a small, domestic setting and received support from staff who understood their needs and preferences. People’s privacy and dignity was maintained. People were offered choices about what they wished to do. They were provided with support to participate in their preferred activities and maintain relationships with family and friends. The ethos and values of the service supported this approach.
The provider’s quality assurance systems monitored the service provided to people. These included obtaining feedback from people about their satisfaction with the service they received. Improvements to the service were promptly made when needed.
Staff spoke positively about the management of the service and told us they received the training and support they required.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 28/03/2019 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned comprehensive inspection to review the key questions, Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led and rate this service.
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.