Archived: 53 West Park

Updated 22 June 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

An Inspector and an Expert by Experience carried out the inspection. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

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.

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we held about the service which included notifications of events and incidents at the service. We asked the local authority for their views about the service.

The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service and observed staff providing support to them in the communal areas. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and five medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and training. We reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits and meeting minutes. We spoke with the registered manager and regional manager.

Following the site visit we spoke with two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We talked with four members of staff team to understand their views about their roles and the service.

Updated 22 June 2022

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

53 West Park provides personal care to people with a learning disability and autistic people in a supported living setting. People using the service have their own bed sits with some shared communal facilities. Not everyone who uses the service receives 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.

The service accommodates nine people in total, four of whom were receiving the regulated activity, personal care at the time of the inspection.

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

The service did not demonstrate they consistently met the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right Support

Arrangements to support people to make decisions did not follow best practice guidance or the law. Risks to people were not always identified. Safe infection control practice was not consistently followed.

There were sufficient numbers of suitably skilled staff who knew people well and communicated with people in ways that met their needs.

The model of care and setting supported people's choice, control and independence. People had their own en-suite bedsits with separate cooking facilities as well as a communal kitchen which allowed varying degrees of independence and choice.

Right Care

Records did not always evidence if or how people were supported to identify or achieve their aspirations and goals.

Medicines were safely managed. Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community. The service worked with people to plan for when they experienced periods of distress or anxiety.

Staff knew how to protect people from poor care or abuse. Staff had training on equality and diversity and considered people’s diverse needs to provide appropriate care.

People's care, treatment and support plans reflected their needs. Staff knew people well and treated them with consideration and care.

Right culture

We saw there had been some improvements made at the service. The provider evaluated and audited the quality of support provided to people, involving them, their families and other professionals as appropriate. An action plan had been developed to address areas for improvement. However, improvements were needed to ensure the quality assurance system was fully effective.

People were engaged in a range of activities both inside and outside the service. However, aspects of the service felt like a care home rather than supported living. The service did not always proactively consider aspects of people’s support needs with a view to increasing their autonomy and empowering them to lead fuller lives in the community.

People, their relatives and staff were all positive in the feedback they gave about the registered manager. The registered manager told us she had been working to address the culture and knew there was further work to do.

People’s views about the service were sought through tenants’ meetings and key worker sessions. However, people were not fully engaged in the running of the service

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 is applying the principles of Right support right care right culture.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to identifying risks and seeking consent at this inspection

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.