Springwell

Updated 25 August 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.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in one 'supported living' setting, 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

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and people are often out and we wanted to be sure the manager, staff and person would be available to speak with us.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we held about the service including information submitted to CQC by the provider about serious injuries or events. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. 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 sought feedback from the local authority contracts monitoring and safeguarding adults’ teams and reviewed the information they provided. We contacted the local Healthwatch for their feedback. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the person who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with two members of staff including support staff and the registered manager. We reviewed a range of records, including the person’s care records, activities and medication records.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We reviewed training information, staff records, staff rotas, quality assurance records and various other documentation relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

Updated 25 August 2021

About the service

Springwell is a 'supported living' service which provides personal care for one person within their own home. The person has their own tenancy for a house which has a designated bedroom for staff to use when providing 24-hour support.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

The person was very happy with the service and support they received. They were supported by a dedicated staff team who knew them very well. Staff interacted in a very positive manner with the person and demonstrated warm, friendly relationships.

Systems were in place to keep the person safe. Staff safeguarded the person from abuse, where possible. Risks to the person’s health, safety and well-being were managed and included positive risk taking. There was an established dedicated staff team in place to support the person to meet their needs and safe recruitment processes were in place. Medicines were safely managed. The registered manager reviewed accidents and incidents to identify any trends or lessons learnt.

The person’s needs were assessed before they received support. Staff received regular training and were supported through regular supervisions and annual appraisals. Staff supported the person with their nutritional needs and to access a range of health care professionals. The person was supported to have maximum choice and control of their life, and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff supported the person in a respectful, dignified manner. The person was encouraged to maintain their independence.

The person received person-centred care. Care plans detailed how they wanted to be supported by staff with different tasks as well as their choices, preferences and decisions in relation to their care. The person enjoyed a wide range of fun activities with staff support including cooking, exercise, gardening and DIY projects. The provider had a complaints procedure in place and the person felt comfortable raising any concerns with staff.

The person was very happy with the service and staff. The registered manager promoted an open and honest culture and was approachable. The provider had an effective quality assurance process in place which included regular audits and checks to ensure the person was receiving a consistent good level of support. The person was regularly consulted about the quality of the service through surveys, reviews and discussions. Staff were involved in the ongoing development and improvement of the service through regular communication and meetings.

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. Staff provided choices to people and asked regularly what they wanted to achieve. People were the decision-makers in their care and worked with staff to create personalised care plans which met their needs. The staff team were invested in the people they supported and put them at the heart of everything they did.

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 6 August 2019 and this is the first inspection. The last rating for the service at the previous premises was requires improvement, published on 19 March 2019.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the 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.