Background to this inspection
Updated
10 August 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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.
Inspection team
The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert 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 nine ‘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 also provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community.
Registered Manager
This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.
At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.
Inspection activity started on 9 June 2022 and ended on 23 June 2022. We visited the office location on 9 June 2022. We visited people in eight supported living settings, with their consent, and contacted staff and people’s relatives to seek their views of the service.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was registered. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with 12 people who used the service and four people’s relatives and representatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager, two members of the management team and 11 members of the support team. We also gathered feedback from five members of staff after our visits to the supported living houses.
We reviewed a range of records. This included nine people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at the staff training matrix and five staff files in relation to recruitment. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including how the provider monitored the quality of the service and sought people’s feedback.
Updated
10 August 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
The Oaklea Trust (North West) provides support and personal care to people with a learning disability and/or autism living in supported living services and in their own homes the local 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. At the time of our inspection the service supported 20 people with their personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support
People had fulfilling and meaningful lives because staff focused on their strengths and promoted what they could do. People were supported to pursue their interests. One person told us, “I like going to Club with my friends.” Another person said, “I’m going to work today.” Staff supported people to have the maximum choice, control and independence and to have control over their own lives. People had a choice about their living environment. They were able to personalise their rooms and included in choosing décor for their homes.
Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community. They supported people to play an active role in maintaining their own health and wellbeing. People received the support they needed to take their medicines. Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence.
Staff supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision-making. They advocated for people to be able to make decisions about their own lives. People were supported to express their views and wishes because staff knew them well and knew how to communicate with them.
Right Care
People received kind and compassionate care. People said they liked the staff and enjoyed spending time with them. We observed people laughing and joking with staff.
People’s care, treatment and support plans reflected their range of needs and promoted their wellbeing and enjoyment of life. Staff understood and responded to people’s individual needs and respected people’s privacy and dignity. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.
Staff understood how to protect people from abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. Where concerns were raised the registered manager and staff worked cooperatively with partner agencies to resolve them.
The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. The provider had identified challenges with staff recruitment and retention and was considering innovative ways to attract and retain staff.
Right culture
People received compassionate and empowering care that was tailored to their needs. Staff knew and understood people well and were responsive, supporting their aspirations to live a quality life of their choosing. They placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did.
Staff ensured risks of a closed culture were minimised so that people received support based on transparency, respect and inclusivity. They spoke to and about people with respect. One staff member told us, “I think [people] have good relationships with staff who ensure that they do their best to support them with any goals or aspirations they have.” The staff said they felt well supported and could raise any concerns with the service management.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
We carried out a focused inspection at this service between August and November 2021 in response to concerns about how people were protected from abuse. We looked at the key questions of safe and well-led. Both were rated as requires improvement and we found a breach of regulation. We could not give an overall rating for the service as it was the first inspection since the service had been registered with us at its new address and we had not inspected all the key questions. The outcome of the inspection was “inspected but not rated” (published 23 December 2021).
The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.