We carried out a review of the data available to us about Huntingdon Supported Living Scheme on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Huntingdon Supported Living Scheme, you can give feedback on this service.
Huntingdon Supported Living Scheme is a supported living service providing personal care to 12 adults with physical and learning disabilities and autism.
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. Staff were also discouraged from wearing anything that suggested they were care staff when coming and going with people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Staff were flexible and responsive to people’s individual needs and preferences. Often finding effective, creative, and innovative ways to help people live a full a life as possible. Staff enabled people to exercise their choices, ambitions, their human rights and to follow their interests both within the service and the wider community. Engagement in activities and support networks outside of the service was an important part of people’s lives. People had busy social lives and took part in a wide range of pastimes and voluntary work. Staff were willing to try anything to help people live rewarding lives and develop the life skills they needed and wanted to become as independent as possible.
The registered manager and their staff team linked up, communicated and worked with other organisations and health professionals to ensure people’s well-being. This included working with different services to enable people to go on holiday and still receive health care or when moving between different care services.
Staff at the service were not risk adverse, when supporting a person’s rights. 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. Where people had been assessed as lacking mental capacity legal restrictions had been applied for, agreed and put in place as guidance for staff.
The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.
Staff followed systems in place to monitor and manage people’s risks and keep people safe from poor care and avoidable harm. Staff were trained in infection control and helped people keep the service clean. Staff were working with external health professionals and current guidance to try to reduce the number of medicines people were on. People were supported safely with their medicines. Competency checks reviewed staff’s ability to manage this support task safely.
Checks were completed on potential new staff to help make sure they were suitable to work with the people they supported. Staff received an induction, mandatory training, competency checks and supervisions to develop their skills and knowledge. Staff were supported to give people a high-quality service. Checks were made to monitor the quality of care being given including provider visits to the service. Any actions required were either completed or on-going.
Staff treated the people they supported kindly. People had positive opinions of the staff who cared for them. Staff promoted and maintained people’s privacy and dignity when supporting them.
Staff supported people to follow a balanced diet and people, where possible were involved in making decisions about their care. People’s preferences on how staff delivered their care was recorded in care records. People had plans in place for the end of their life and these were understood by the staff team.
Complaints were investigated and resolved where practicable. People knew how to raise any concerns. The registered manager gave people, their relatives and staff, opportunities to give their view of the service and from this feedback action was taken to make any improvements.
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 (report published 29 July 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.
This announced inspection was carried out on 5 July 2017. At the last inspection on 10 April 2015 the service was rated as ‘Good’. At this inspection we found the service remained ‘Good’.
At the time of our inspection a registered manager was in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and report on what we find. We found that people’s rights were being protected as applications were in progress where required and had been submitted to the relevant local authorities.
People were assisted by staff in a way that supported their safety and in a respectful manner. Health care and support plans in place continue to ensure that staff had guidance to meet people’s individual care needs. The care and support plans recorded people’s individual choices, their likes and dislikes and the assistance they required. Risks to people using the service were identified and assessed to enable people to live as safely and independently as possible.
Staff assisted people with personal care, their medicine, activities/hobbies, cooking and domestic tasks in a kind and cheerful and sensitive way.
Members of staff were trained to provide care which met people’s individual needs and wishes. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities. They were supported by the registered manager to maintain and develop their skills and knowledge through regular supervision, appraisals and ongoing training.
People and their relatives felt able to raise any suggestions or concerns they might have with the registered manager. People felt listened to and reported that communication with the registered manager and members of staff were open and very good.
Arrangements continue to be in place to ensure that the quality of the service provided for people was regularly monitored. People who lived using the service and their relatives were encouraged to share their views and feedback about the quality of the care and support provided
Huntingdon Supported Living Scheme is registered to provide personal care to people living in two supported living premises. The service offers 24-hour support and care to people who have a learning disability. There were 11 people using the service when we visited.
The inspection took place on 10 April 2015 and we gave the provider 48-hours’ notice before we visited. This was the first inspection since the service was re-registered on 03 November 2014.
There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
Staff were knowledgeable about reporting any abuse. There were a sufficient number of staff employed and recruitment procedures ensured that only suitable staff were employed. Risk assessments were in place and actions were taken to reduce these risks. Arrangements were in place to ensure that people were supported and protected with the safe management of medication.
The CQC is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find. DoLS applications were being made to ensure that people’s rights were protected. Staff were supported and trained to do their job. People were supported to access a range of health care professionals and they were provided with opportunities to increase their levels of independence. Health risk assessments were in place to ensure that people were supported to maintain their health. People had adequate amounts of food and drink to meet their individual likes and nutritional and hydration needs.
People’s privacy and dignity were respected and their care and support was provided in a caring and a patient way.
People’s hobbies and interests had been identified and they were supported to take part in a range of activities that were meaningful to them. There were strong links with the local community. A complaints procedure was in place and complaints had been responded to the satisfaction of the complainant. People could raise concerns with the staff at any time.
The provider had quality assurance processes and procedures in place to improve, if needed, the quality and safety of people’s support and care. People and their relatives were able to make suggestions in relation to the support and care provided and staff acted on what they were told. A staff training and development programme was in place and procedures were in place to review the standard of staff members’ work performance.