Archived: Connections

Updated 2 June 2016

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.

The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because people who use the service who are often out during the day. The inspection took place on 14 April 2016 and was announced.

Before our inspection, we reviewed the information we held about the service this included statutory notifications. Notifications are information about specific important events the service is legally required to send to us.

We read the Provider Information Record (PIR) and previous inspection reports before our visit. The PIR was information given to us by the provider. This enabled us to ensure we looked closely at any potential areas of concern. The PIR gave us information about how the service ensured it was safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.

The inspection team consisted of one inspector. During the inspection we spoke with six people who used the service. We also spoke with five members of staff, the deputy manager, and a senior manager.

We looked at three people’s care records. We observed how staff engaged with people and looked at records that related to how the service was managed.

Updated 2 June 2016

The inspection took place on 14 April 2016 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was to ensure that people were available to meet with us and that staff were available. This was the first inspection of the service since it was registered under a new provider.

Connections is the location for North East Somerset Supported Living Service which provides personal care to 22 people. The service focuses on supporting people with a learning disability to live independently. They also provide support to people with complex needs associated with a disability and in these circumstances can provide up to 24-hour care. This inspection did not look at the day centre element of Connections.

There was a registered manager for the service. 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.

People were treated with care and courtesy by the staff that supported them. Staff were able to give people plenty of time when they were supporting them. There were many positive interactions between people and staff. People approached staff in a relaxed way when they wanted to talk with them.

People’s needs were identified and their care was planned with their involvement. Care was delivered in a way that properly met their needs in the way they preferred.

People were supported to eat and drink enough to stay healthy and they were supported with preparing meals and drinks.

People were assisted with their needs by staff who were monitored and supported in their work. People also benefited because they were supported by staff who were properly trained and competent to meet their needs.

People spoke positively about the care and support they received from the staff. Examples of comments we were told included, "They’re all nice to me” and "I like living on my own now.”

Care records were informative and clearly showed what to do to effectively assist people with their personal care needs.

People were well supported to make complaints and express their views about the service that they received.

The staff showed that they understood the needs of the people they supported. People were well supported to make choices about the support they wanted and how they chose to spend their day.

The provider’s visions and values were understood by the staff who put them into practice when they supported people. These included providing personalised care so that people were treated as unique individuals.

There was an effective system in place to check and monitor the quality of service that people received. The views of people and their family, as well as staff were sought as part of this process. When improvements were needed, prompt action was taken and these were acted upon.