Hexham

Updated 17 March 2020

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 ‘supported living’ settings 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

The inspection was unannounced. We visited the providers offices on 11 February 2020, visited people on 18 February 2020 and returned to the providers offices on 20 February 2020 which included to provide feedback.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority safeguarding and commissioning teams. We also sought feedback from Healthwatch. 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 information received to plan our inspection.

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 this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited four people in their homes. We also sent surveys to people who received personal care and received seven back. We contacted five relatives. We also contacted two care managers, two social workers, a nurse therapist and staff at the positive behavioural support team. We spoke with the registered manager, two team leaders and ten support staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four care and medication records. We looked at four staff personnel files. We reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager to validate the evidence we found and analysed information we had been provided, including training data.

Updated 17 March 2020

About the service

‘Hexham' provides care and support to people with a learning disability who live in supported living accommodation. At the time of the inspection there were 15 people using the service.

Not everyone who used the service received 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 has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

People were safe in the care of kind and compassionate support staff. The provider had systems in place to support safety within the service and protect people from abuse. Staff treated people with dignity and respect and helped people to remain as independent as possible.

Medicines were managed safely, although updates were required in some paperwork, but this was addressed immediately. The provider was in the process of updating their medication policy to ensure it reflected best practice.

Staff were supported and had received suitable training to ensure they could meet people’s individual needs. Enough staff were available to support people, and although agency use was higher than the provider would have liked, a recruitment drive was in place to address this.

There was a good choice of fresh food and refreshments available and people were supported to shop and prepare their own meals with support from staff if necessary. Staff ensured that people had access to a range of health care professionals.

People’s care plans described how they wished to be supported and how they liked this to take place. Likes, dislikes, goals and aspirations were discussed, and outcomes documented. People were able to follow any interests they may have and encouraged to try new ones. Local community involvement was encouraged, and the provider had set up social events so people could meet other people using their services. Positive risk taking was encouraged. 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.

A range of quality checks were carried out to monitor the service provided to people. When an issue had been identified, action was taken. The provider was in the process of updating their policies and ensuring that all care plan information was on their new IT system. The majority of staff were positive about changes within the management team and staff morale was reported to have improved.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was good (published 12 September 2017). Since this rating was awarded, the service has moved premises. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the current rating at this inspection. The service has retained the rating of good.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on our inspection programme.

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.