UK Supported Living Services

Updated 31 August 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

One inspector carried out the inspection.

Service and service type

UK Supported Living Services Limited 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 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 the service is small and people are often out, and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection we reviewed information we held about the service and reviewed the provider information return the provider had completed. 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 reviewed information about incidents the provider had notified us of and contacted health professionals and the local authority for their views on the service. We also looked at the notifications we had received for this service. Notifications are information about important events the service is required to send us by law. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited and met three people who used the service in their own homes and spoke with the registered manager, the quality partner and six support and office staff. Immediately following the inspection we spoke with a relative of a person using the service, to ask about their experience of the care provided. We also received written feedback from a further two health professionals. During our inspection we observed care practices and the interaction between staff and people.

We reviewed a range of records that included three people’s support and care plans, daily monitoring charts and medicines records. We also looked at a range of records relating to the management and monitoring of the service. These included staffing rotas, staff recruitment records, staff supervision and training records, accident and incident records, meeting minutes and a range of the provider's audits, quality assurance records and policies and procedures.

Updated 31 August 2019

About the service:

UK Supported Living Services Limited is registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection six people living with a learning disability were receiving 24 hour support with personal care in their own supported living accommodation.

Not everyone using UK Supported Living Services Limited 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.

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 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:

People were supported by caring, motivated staff who knew everyone very well and treated people as individuals and with dignity and respect. People were cared for by a consistent staff team who had received appropriate training to carry out their roles. The provider had robust recruitment systems to ensure staff were safely recruited. Staff spoke knowledgably about the systems in place to safeguard people from abuse.

The provider showed innovative and unique use of technology. The provider had developed and implemented a bespoke real time digital recording database system which enabled them to record, review and monitor all care and support records accurately and instantly. The introduction of the database had greatly improved the service delivery for people and had impacted positively on people’s health, wellbeing and daily lives.

The service was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People were supported to have maximum choice and control over 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.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence. The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent .

Since the previous inspection the provider had made improvements to how they managed people’s medicines. People’s medicines were managed safely, stored securely and administered by trained staff. People received assistance to take their medicines as prescribed and were supported to access health care services.

People's care was tailored to their individual needs and maintained their independence as much as possible. Care plans were comprehensive, person centred, respectful, and reviewed regularly to ensure they reflected people’s needs.

Staff received regular supervision and annual appraisals to ensure they were fully supported in their role. There was an effective training programme that staff felt was interesting and well delivered.

People were supported to lead active lives and took part in a range of different activities if they wished. People who preferred to spend time on a one to one basis were supported with appropriate activities they enjoyed, to ensure their wellbeing was maintained and to prevent social isolation.

There was a robust system of ongoing monitoring through audits and spot checks to review the quality of the service provided.

Relatives, staff and health professionals expressed confidence in the management team and felt the service had a clear management structure and an open and supportive culture.

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 (report published in January 2017).

Why we inspected:

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

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.