Archived: St George's House

Updated 26 September 2019

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 five ‘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

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because people are often out, and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us. Inspection activity commenced and ended on 14 August 2019.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with 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 with three people who used the service and we observed the care and support people received in communal areas to assess interactions between people and staff. We spoke with two shift leaders, the compliance manager, the clinical lead and the registered manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and three medication records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures and audits were reviewed.

After the inspection

We spoke with four relatives to gain their feedback about the service.

Updated 26 September 2019

About the service

Dunstall Enterprises Limited- St George’s House provides a supported living service to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection the service provided a supported living service to thirty-one people across five properties.

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

Staff provided people with high quality care that relatives described as ‘excellent’ and ‘out of this world’. Staff went above and beyond to provide people with high-quality care that exceeded expectations. There was a palpable person-centred culture throughout the service and staff were empowered to work imaginatively and creatively and to focus on the needs of people.

A meticulous recruitment process meant that people were skilfully matched to staff who shared similar interests and things that were important to them. People had developed meaningful relationships with staff that were trained to provide support with kindness, compassion and sensitivity.

People were treated as individuals and were encouraged to thrive and grow, developing new life skills to enable them to live as independently as possible. People were involved in decisions about their care and the different methods used to support people to communicate played a vital role in engaging people to be involved in all aspects of their care.

Staff utilised their knowledge of equality and diversity embedding this in practice which meant people’s diverse needs were respected and understood. This approach meant that care and support was tailored to meet individual needs allowing people to achieve goals and aspirations.

There was a positive approach to safety and risk and people were supported with positive risk taking. People were safeguarded from the risk of harm and abuse and people’s individual risks were managed well. Medicines were managed in a safe way.

People had their needs assessed and planned for and care and was delivered by a skilled staff team who were trained and knew people well. Staff worked effectively with each other and with other agencies and organisations to provide good, quality care for people. 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 received care that was responsive to their needs. People were supported to follow their interests and were given choices about the way in which their support was delivered. Complaints were dealt with in a timely way and feedback was welcomed and actioned.

The provider had a clear vision for the service and staff at all levels demonstrated the provider’s values.

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 14 February 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.