Archived: Norbury Avenue

Updated 18 April 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one inspector on 7 March 2019.

Service and service type:

This service provides care and support to people living in a ‘supported living’ setting, so that they can live in their own home 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.

What we did:

Before our inspection we reviewed information, we held about the service. This included notifications the provider is required by law to send us about events that happen within the service. We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. 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.

During our inspection we spoke with three people using the service. We observed interactions between people and staff to help us understand their experiences of receiving care and support at the service. We spoke with the registered manager and three staff members. We looked at records which included two care plans, two staff files, medicine records and other records relating to the management of the service.

After our inspection we spoke with two relatives of people using the service and the registered manager sent us additional information such as resident and staff meeting minutes, staff training, staff rotas and quality checks.

Updated 18 April 2019

About the service:

Norbury Avenue is a supported living service providing 24-hour care and support for people with mild to moderate learning disabilities, mental health needs and autistic spectrum conditions.

The service can accommodate seven people with six bedrooms on the first floor and one bedroom on the ground floor. At the time of our inspection five people were using the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support in the following ways, promotion of choice and control, independence and inclusion. For example, people’s support focused on them having as much choice and control over their everyday lives as possible.

People were happy and relaxed in the company of staff. People knew staff and the registered manager and were comfortable approaching them, asking questions or speaking about their day. Staff took time to listen and responded appropriately.

People told us they liked the staff and relatives we spoke with confirmed staff were kind and caring.

People continued to receive safe care by staff who knew the risks people faced. Staff supported people to be independent while keeping them safe.

Managers and staff knew how to record and report concerns, this included any safeguarding concerns. When an incident or accident happened, the reason was investigated and changes were made to make things better for people.

Staff had received training and had the support they needed to do their job well.

People were encouraged to make choices about their lives and to be as independent as they could be. Staff helped people work towards their goals and encouraged people to engage in the activities they wanted to do. This included additional learning to help them support their independence.

People were supported to keep in touch with friends and family.

Staff supported people to attend health care appointments and made sure heath care professionals knew how to support people during treatment.

Managers and staff put people at the centre of the service. People were asked their views about how the service was run and what staff could do to make things better.

Improvements and maintenance were needed around the service to keep people safe and to make a nicer environment for people to live in. The provider and the landlord had agreed what improvements were needed and the expected dates of completion. We will monitor progress and look at this again during our next inspection.

Rating at last inspection:

Good (The date the last report published was 09 September 2016)

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive. We will inspect in line with our inspection programme or sooner if required.

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