The Office at Smokey Farm

Updated 24 December 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 a ‘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

This inspection was announced.

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We observed care to help us understand the experience of people who were not able to communicate their views verbally with us.

We spoke with three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the provider, registered manager, senior care workers and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records. We looked at three 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

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 24 December 2021

About the service

The Office at Smokey Farm is a supported living service that provides personal care and support to younger adults who have autism, learning disabilities and/or mental health conditions. At time of our inspection the service was supporting six people living in their own flats in one building, known as ‘Bredon View'. People’s homes had ensuites and their own private gardens. People also had access to shared facilities such as outside spaces and a spa to enjoy, plus communal kitchens, a laundry room and a sensory room.

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

People were cared and supported for by a well led motivated management team and staff that were passionate and enthusiastic.

There was a strong person centred culture embedded within the service. People were supported by kind, caring and compassionate staff that had formed positive relationships with them. People were encouraged to live as full a life as possible and staff supported them to achieve this. People received care that was personalised to meet their individual needs and preferences.

Systems were in place to protect people from the risk of harm and abuse. Risks to people’s safety had been assessed, monitored and managed so they were supported to stay safe while their freedom was respected.

Staff were recruited safely. The provider had robust recruitment procedures in place and was extremely committed in ensuring potential new staff were of good character and had the right values to work with vulnerable people.

Staff were provided with the relevant training and support needed to enable them to carry out their roles effectively. People received their medicines as prescribed. Infection control policies and procedures were in place to keep people safe.

People were supported to access healthcare services. Staff were able to identify and communicate any changes to a person’s needs to ensure appropriate support was sought.

People were encouraged to do activities and hobbies they enjoyed and supported to try new ones. Relatives were positive about the service, how it’s managed, the staff and the care and support provided.

The service was well-led. The provider and registered manager had a good oversight. There were robust quality assurance checks and audits in place. Feedback was welcomed and used to further improve people’s experience of using the service.

The registered manager, supported by the provider, had developed a person centred culture. Staff and management were enthusiastic and spoke passionately about their roles and responsibilities and were committed to constantly provide high quality personalised care. They actively engaged with people, their relatives and professionals in the ongoing delivery of their care and 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.

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.

The right support:

The model of care and setting maximises people’s choice, control and independence. The supported living location is set in a spacious rural area. The surroundings enabled people to take part in outdoor activities including accessing the local amenities. One relative described the setting as, “A specialist environment for people with complex needs.” A further relative said, “[Family member] is given opportunities, we are more than happy with the care and support provided.”

Right care:

People received good quality person-centred care that promoted their dignity, privacy and human

rights. There was a strong person-centred culture within the staff team. Positive behaviour support plans had been developed for people, to understand the reasons for their behaviour, and provide guidance for staff to ensure consistent approaches were used. Staff knew people well and demonstrated an understanding of people’s individual care, behaviour and communication needs.

Right culture:

People were supported by staff where the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of management and care staff ensured people led confident, inclusive and empowered lives. Staff created a nurturing family environment.

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 04/02/2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection as the service had not previously received a rating.

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.