Archived: Creative Support - South Lakes Service

Updated 11 January 2019

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.

This inspection took place on 30 November and 3 December 2018 and was announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it covers three extra care housing schemes across the South Lakes and the registered manager is often out of the office supporting staff. We needed to be sure that they would be in.

Inspection site visit activity started on 30 November and ended on 3 December 2018. We visited the office location on 30 November 2018 to see the registered manager and to review care records and policies and procedures. We visited the housing schemes and with permission visited a person in their own home.

The inspection was carried out by one Adult Social Care inspector and an expert-by-experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of caring for someone who has used this type of service.

Some of the people who received the service could not easily share their views with us. During the inspection we spoke with eight relatives, two support workers, the registered manager and the service director. We looked at the care records for eight people receiving services. We also looked at records that related to how the service was managed. We also used a planning tool to collate all this evidence and information prior to visiting the service.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the information we held about the service, including the information in the PIR, before we visited the home. We also contacted the local health and social care commissioners to obtain their views of the service.

Updated 11 January 2019

This inspection took place between 30 November and 3 December 2018. The inspection was announced. We contacted the service on 29 November 2018 to give notice of our visit on 30 November 2018 because we needed to ensure the registered manager would be available to speak with us.

At our last comprehensive inspection in of the service in October 2017 of the service we found a breach of Regulation 12 Safe care and treatment of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.This was because people were at risk of not receiving their medicines safely because not all people had a care plan on how to manage their medications or the risk associated with them.

Following the last inspection, we asked the provider to complete an action plan to show what they would do and by when to improve the key question safe, responsive and well-led to at least good. At this inspection we found that the provider had completed those actions and we found the service was meeting all of the fundamental standards of quality and safety.

This service provides care and support to people living in specialist ‘extra care’ housing in three locations. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single household accommodation in a shared site or building. The accommodation is owned or rented, and is the occupant’s own home. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support service. The purpose of the service is to enable people to live as independently as possible in the community. At the time of the inspection there were 31 people receiving the service.

Not everyone using Creative Support - South Lakes Service receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

We saw significant improvements had been made to the care planning and management of risks associated with people’s medications. People received their medications as they had been prescribed and received the right level of support they needed to take their medicines safely. The staff identified if people were unwell and supported them to contact health professionals.

We saw that the service worked with a variety of external agencies and health professionals to provide appropriate care and support to meet people’s physical and emotional health needs.

There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff available to meet people’s needs The frequency and duration of visits provided ranged depending on people's individual needs. and to allow flexibility in the service should people make a request to alter their visit times.

Where safeguarding concerns or incidents had occurred, these had been reported by the registered manager to the appropriate authorities. We could see records of the actions that had been taken by the home to protect people and the identified lessons that had been learned.

People’s rights were protected. The registered manager was knowledgeable about their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People were asked for their consent before care was provided and the decisions they made were respected.

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.

Auditing and quality monitoring systems were in place that allowed the service to demonstrate effectively the safety and quality of the home.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.