31 March 2022
During a routine inspection
About the service
11a Hawkhurst road is a supported living service. At the time of the inspection two people were receiving the regulated activity of personal care. The service supported people with a learning disability and autistic people. Staff provided each person with support for life skills and with their individual health and wellbeing needs. This included specific communication requirements and support with emotional, physical and sensory needs.
The building had been adapted and each person had their own sitting room, bedroom and bathroom. People shared a kitchen and laundry room. Each person had their own tenancy agreement. Staff provided one to one support and were available 24 hours a day. Staff had separate facilities which included an office, kitchen and sleep in room.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support
Staff supported each person to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence. Staff focused on each person’s strengths and promoted what they could do, so they had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life. We observed people make decisions about their own lives and everyday life choices. For example, one person was on-line food shopping, choosing exactly what they wanted to buy. A staff member was offering suggestions and advice which sometimes the person agreed with and sometimes they didn’t. Staff were respecting the person’s choices.
Right Care
Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. People were comfortable and relaxed with their support staff, freely expressing their needs and wishes. Relatives confirmed they believed their loved ones felt safe.
People received kind and compassionate care which supported their needs and aspirations. There were enough appropriately skilled staff to meet each person’s individual needs and keep them safe. During the inspection we observed each person using individual and specific communication methods to communicate with staff. This included Makaton (a type of sign language), pictures, and assistive technology. For example, one person used body language and gesturing to let us know that they were happy to invite us into their kitchen. We observed people communicated comfortably with staff because staff had the necessary skills to support good communication.
Right culture
People were supported by staff who understood best practice in relation to the wide range of strengths, impairments or sensitivities, people with a learning disability and autistic people may have. This meant each person received compassionate and empowering care which was tailored to their needs. People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff. For example, we observed a person who had decided they wanted to go for an impromptu walk and was immediately supported to go. Families told us they were fully involved in planning their loved one’s care and they felt valued and listened to. One relative told us, “We are fully involved we all work together with (name) to make it good for them.”
Staff placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. The registered manager and staff understood the importance of family to people and made communication a priority. A relative said, “Communication from the registered manager and staff is excellent, we talk regularly.”
The service enabled people and those important to them to work with staff to develop the service. Staff valued and acted upon people’s views. One staff told us, “People lead us showing us how they want to be supported.” People’s quality of life was enhanced by the service’s culture of improvement and inclusivity.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating
This service was registered with us on 25 November 2019 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of right support, right care, right culture.
We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all supported living inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
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.