Updated 8 December 2023
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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.
Inspection team
The inspection team consisted of 1 inspector and 2 Experts by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Service and service type
This service provides care and support to people living in 12 ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. Two people were also supported on an outreach basis, in their own homes. 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.
Registered Manager
This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.
At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post, however, they were on leave throughout the inspection. A branch manager from a different location was providing cover and they were supported by the wider management team, including the operations manager and operations director.
Notice of inspection
The inspection was announced. We gave the service a short period of notice of our intention to undertake an inspection. This was because we needed to ensure key staff would be available to speak with us and people would be at home when we visited.
Inspection activity started on 13 September 2023. We visited people living in 5 supported living settings on 24, 25 and 26 October 2023. We visited the location office on 08 November 2023, during which feedback was given.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we have received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority contracts and safeguarding teams. We also used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We met 22 people receiving support from the service. Not everyone using the service was able to speak with us, so we spent time observing care provided in communal areas of their homes. We spoke by telephone with nine people's relatives, to seek their feedback about the care and support provided by the service. We also received written feedback from a further two relatives. We spoke with 23 members of staff via video call, spoke with an additional eight during our inspection visits and received feedback from a further 18 by email questionnaire. This included support workers, senior support workers, field support supervisors, field support managers, the branch manager (covering for the registered manager at the time of inspection), operations manager and operations director.
We reviewed a range of records. This included care plans and risk assessments for nine people, daily notes, and medication records for three people. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed. We continued to source information and clarification from the provider following our visits to the