About the service Cornerstones Supported Living head office provides care and support to people living in twelve supported living settings. Each setting had a staff team with team leaders and service managers who oversaw the running of the settings and reported to the manager. 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 the inspection, 12 people were using the service. CQC does not regulate premises for supported living; this inspection looked at people's care and support.
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of right support, right care, right culture.
Right support
People had their care and support needs assessed before they started to use the service. People's independence was promoted. Some people told us how their range of skills and social activities had increased, and staff had supported and encouraged them to go to places that interested them. Staff supported people to find employment, take part in activities and pursue their interests in their local area. Risks to people had been assessed to ensure their needs were met safely. People's medicines were managed safely. Staff followed government guidance in relation to infection prevention and control.
Right care
People received kind and compassionate care from staff who wanted to have a positive impact on people’s lives. Staff protected and respected people's privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs. People had access to health care professionals when they needed them. People and their relatives told us they felt safe. Comments included, “Safe? Oh yes” and, “I feel safe in my home and with the staff.” There were safeguarding procedures in place and staff had a clear understanding of these. Robust recruitment checks had taken place before staff started working at the service.
Right culture
People received good quality care, support and treatment because staff had been trained to carry out their roles and were supported by a team of managers. People and those important to them were involved in planning their support. The registered manager and staff worked in partnership with health and social care providers to deliver an effective service. The registered manager said, “It's quite a humbling thing to place someone into supported living environment. We pride ourselves on supporting people to meet their goals and to access things that we all access.” Staff were knowledgeable about people's support needs as well as people's preferences for how they wanted to be supported. Comments from people and relatives included, “Staff help me to live my life” and, “[Provider] has put in place a really effective positive behavioural support plan for my relative.” There was a complaints procedure in place and people knew how to complain if they needed to.
We have made a recommendation that the service ensures all staff have regular supervision sessions in line with the provider's policy.
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 at the previous premises was Good published on 27 September 2018. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Cornerstones Supported Living Head Office on our 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, which will help inform when we next inspect.