Background to this inspection
Updated
3 April 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 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 unannounced.
What we did before the inspection
We spoke with a monitoring officer with the local authority and reviewed information we held about 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 spoke to the registered manager and three care workers. We looked at records of care and support for two people and records of medicines management for five people. We looked at records of training, and the records of care and supervision of three care members. We spoke with two people who used the service and three family members. We made observations of people’s support. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.
Updated
3 April 2020
About the service
108 Highlever Road is a supported living service. It provides care and support to five women who are living with dementia.
People’s experience of using this service
People and their relatives praised the service. Comments from families included “When I leave here I know [my family member] is in safe hands. It’s a remarkable place” and “It’s a happy place.”
Staff displayed positive and compassionate approaches, reassuring people, communicating well and offering choices. People’s life stories and what they liked were well understood by care workers and used to help people reminisce. The service understood what could cause people to become upset and how best to respond to these. Staff responded to people’s wishes and planned activities to meet these and prevent isolation and encouraged people to remain independent.
Risks to people’s safety were assessed and managed. There were enough staff to safely meet people needs and staff were recruited safely. The registered manager worked to ensure a consistent staff team who people knew well. There were appropriate measures to safeguard people from abuse and medicines were safely managed.
The building had been redecorated to a high standard and ensured a dementia friendly environment. Staff received appropriate training and supervision to carry out their roles and managers checked their competency and skills. 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. People were supported to eat and drink in line with their wishes and the service promoted good health and access to healthcare services.
People’s care was planned to meet their needs and was personalised. People had access to a wide range of activities and the service worked to promote social inclusion, with people’s families encouraged to participate in activities and the daily life of the home.
The registered manager promoted an open and positive culture. Managers checked that staff were working to a high standard and engaged with people and their families to ensure satisfaction and to develop the service. Managers encouraged staff to reflect on their successes and learn from these. The service was continuously learning and developing new approaches and worked in partnership with local organisations to improve.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection:
The last rating for this service was good (published 5 August 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous 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.