We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.About the service
Autism Anglia is a supported living service providing personal care to approximately 22 people in 11 addresses. Support is provided to people with a learning disability and autistic people. People live in individual flats and shared houses.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.
Right Support
People and their representatives told us the service enabled people to have a good quality of life. A relative told us, “The service transformed the quality of life for my family member. It’s lovely to see them so enjoy life.”
Staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life. Staff supported people to take part in activities and pursue their interests.
Staff supported people to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence. Staff supported people to make decisions, in line with best practice guidance. Staff gave people time to communicate their views, using their preferred communication method.
The service supported people in a holistic manner which promoted their wellbeing. Staff enabled people to access health and social care support from both internal specialist teams and professionals in the community.
Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcome.
Right Care
People received kind and compassionate care. Staff treated people with respect and dignity. They knew people well and responded to their individual needs.
Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to keep people safe. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it.
The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. Senior staff worked effectively to reduce the impact of challenges in staff recruitment.
People who had individual ways of communicating, such as body language, sounds, Makaton (a form of sign language), pictures and symbols could interact comfortably with staff and others involved in their care. Staff had the necessary skills to understand them.
People’s care and support plans reflected their range of needs and this promoted their wellbeing and enjoyment of life. Staff received advice on best practice from knowledgeable specialists within the service.
Right culture
People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff. The whole service placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did.
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/or autistic people may have. This meant people received care that was tailored to their needs. The service had a specific focus on understanding autism, which enhanced people’s quality of life.
People and those important to them, including advocates, were involved in planning their care.
Staff evaluated the quality of support provided to people, involving the person, their families and other professionals as appropriate. Senior staff and managers had good systems in place to understand what was happening in the service. They were visible across the organisation, which minimised the risk of closed cultures developing.
People’s quality of life was enhanced by the service’s culture of improvement and the desire to make changes which improved people’s lives.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Why we inspected
We undertook this inspection to assess that the service was applying the principles of Right support, right care, right culture.
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for the service at the previous premises was good, published on 12 November 2019.
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.