Scenario Management - Riversmede

Updated 26 January 2019

The Inspection ¿ We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection team ¿ Consisted of an adult social care inspector.

Service and service type ¿ This service provides personal care to 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. In addition, they provide outreach support for people who live in the local community. CQC does not regulate premises for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s 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 comprehensive inspection visit took place on 09 January 2019 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provided a domiciliary care service to people who live in supported housing. We needed to be sure that we could access the premises and people would be available.

What we did preparing for and carrying out this inspection ¿ Before our inspection we completed our planning tool and reviewed the information we held on the service. This included notifications we had received from the provider, about incidents that affect the health, safety and welfare of people supported by the service and previous inspection reports.

We also checked to see if any information concerning the care and welfare of people supported by the service had been received. We contacted the commissioning department at Lancashire County Council. This helped us to gain a balanced overview of what people experienced living at Scenario Management.

As part of the inspection we used information providers sent us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. At the time of the inspection the registered manager was in the process of completing the PIR having received it in January 2019.

During the inspection visit we spoke with a range of people about Scenario Management. They included two people who lived in supported houses, the registered manager, service manager and six support staff members. We also spoke with one relative/friend of a person who lived in supported housing.

We looked at records relating to the management of the service. We did this to ensure the registered manager had oversight of the service and they could respond to any concerns highlighted or lead Scenario Management in ongoing improvements. We also looked at staffing levels, recruitment procedures and medication. We checked care records of one person who lived in a supported house and documents related to the safety of people at Scenario Management.

Updated 26 January 2019

What life is like for people using this service:

People who lived in supported houses provided by Scenario Management and relatives felt confident in the management team and how the service operated. There were sufficient staffing levels that afforded people responsive and dignified support that allowed people to follow their interests and daily life.

The management team had safe recruitment procedures to ensure staff were suitable to work with vulnerable adults. We saw staffing levels matched each person’s requirements to maintain continuity of care and provided support for people to follow their choices in day to day living and the local community.

Staff responsible for assisting people with their medicines had received training to ensure they had the competency and skills required.

Risk assessments provided instructions for staff members when they delivered care for people supported within the houses and when out in the community.

Care records we looked at were of a good standard, detailed and personalised to the person’s needs and wishes. There was evidence of a multi-disciplinary approach to create a detailed plan so that people who lived in supported housing had support from health and social care professionals.

People supported by the Scenario Management were treated with respect by caring staff. This was confirmed by people we spoke with who lived there and a relative. Comments included, “[Relative] has come on so much since being here they do so much with him.” Also, “They have been so good and kind to me since being here.”

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice. We discussed the principles of the MCA and consent with staff and found they had a good awareness.

We found Scenario Management had systems in place to ensure they met people’s diverse and cultural needs. Those who lived in supported housing told us staff and the management team respected their customs and their way of life. Care records we looked at evidenced people and where appropriate relatives were fully included in their support planning.

The registered manager used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included staff meetings and auditing of the service. This enabled the service to be monitored and improve areas that were identified through their quality monitoring processes.

The service worked in partnership with other organisations to ensure they followed good practice and people in their care were safe.

There was a complaints procedure which was made available to people and their family when they commenced using the service. People we spoke with told us they were happy with the support they received.

More information is in Detailed Findings below.

Rating at last inspection:

Good (report published 02 March 2017).

About the service:

Scenario management Limited is registered as a domiciliary care agency which provides supported housing for people with learning disabilities and behaviour that challenges. Staffing is provided 24 hours each day to support the people. They also provide an outreach service to people in the local community.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. The service remained rated good overall.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme or if any issues or concerns are identified.