Beaconsfield Villas

Updated 4 March 2022

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

Two inspectors and an Expert by Experience carried out the inspection. 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 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 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

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since their registration with CQC. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with six people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. People who used the service communicated verbally, and some used different ways of communicating including using Makaton, pictures, objects and their body language and facial expressions. We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager and five support workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and four medication records. We looked at three 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 reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data, staff rota’s, minutes from staff meetings and quality assurance records. We requested feedback from two professionals who regularly visit the service.

Updated 4 March 2022

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

About the service

Beaconsfield Villas is a supported living service providing personal care and support to people living in their own homes. People living at the service had a learning disability and / or autism and some required support with their mental health. At the time of inspection eight people were receiving a service from four locations. Five people received support within their homes at Beaconsfield Villas, and three were living independently in their own accommodation in the community. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Right Support

People and relatives told us they were involved in their care and their support was planned to ensure people had a good quality of life. A relative told us, “It’s good care planning, we have regular reviews and family are involved.” People were supported to make choices about where they go, what they do and to follow their own interests. People were consistently positive about how they were supported. One person said, "I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you without their support, I can’t express my thanks to the guys." People could access the local community and local health services; they regularly went on holiday and were supported to follow their dreams and aspirations. People were supported to maintain relationships with those who were important to them, they could visit people outside their home and have people visit them. The service gave people care and support in a safe, clean, well equipped, well-furnished and well-maintained environment. We were told, "I like the staff and I like having my own space. Staff make me feel supported."

Right Care

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff respected and promoted people’s dignity, privacy and human rights. Care and support plans were person-centred and focussed on people’s strengths and promoted independence. One person told us, "To stay independent, if I go to hospital, they [staff] come with me. I'm getting on and find it a struggle to walk to the train station, so they come with me." Another said, "What staff do well, is talking and listening to me. Things I fail at doing they help me. Sometimes they say they won't do something, 'we will do it together', it’s a team effort.” The service used a positive risk-taking approach when considering the support people needed to help keep them safe. People had unrestricted access to their homes which promoted privacy and dignity. The service worked to ensure that people's human rights were met and supported people to understand they have the same rights and responsibilities as other citizens. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse and the service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. People told us they felt safe.

Right Culture

Staff placed people's wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. The registered manager and staff understood the importance of relationships to people and made communication a priority. The registered manager and staff at the service demonstrated values, attitudes and behaviours which supported people to lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives. Staff had received specific training to meet the needs of people with a learning disability and / or autistic people and spoke with passion about people and the care and support they provided. Staff comments included, "When I see the positive reaction from people it's very fulfilling, when I see that my work makes a difference to people's lives." And, “I like having a job which is about helping people, every day is as fun as you make it.” The service promoted an open and transparent culture which encouraged people and their relatives to share their views and make a complaint. We saw staff fully involving people with activities and tasks of their choosing. People's quality of life was enhanced by the service's culture of improvement and inclusivity.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of 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.

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

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

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.