Church Road

Updated 22 September 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 conducted by two inspectors.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in a ‘supported living’ setting, 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.

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. The registered manager undertook an area manager role, overseeing this and other services. There was another manager who worked at the service on a daily basis and had a good overview of people's individual needs.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection because some of the people using it could not consent to a home visit from an inspector. This meant that we had to arrange for a ‘best interests’ decision about this.

What we did before the inspection

We looked at the information we held about the provider including notifications of significant events.

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.

During the inspection

We met four of the five people who lived at the service. We observed how staff supported and cared for them. We met nine support workers and members of the management team.

We looked at the care records for three people who used the service, records of staff recruitment, training and support for four members of staff, how medicines were managed and other records used by the provider for managing the service, such as meeting minutes, records of incidents and audits.

We spoke with the relatives of two people who used the service and received written feedback from three others. We received feedback from two external professionals.

Updated 22 September 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

Church Road is a supported living service providing personal care for up to six adults with a learning disability. At the time of the inspection five people were using the service. People lived in their own self-contained flats.

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

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting some of underpinning principles of right support, right care, right culture. However, they also needed to make improvements in order to fully meet these.

Right Support

Staff supported people to make choices and be independent where they were able. People were usually supported by staff to pursue their interests. Staff did everything they could to avoid restraining people. Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community. Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcome. Staff supported people to play an active role in maintaining their own health and wellbeing.

Right Care

The provider's systems did not always ensure people were protected from poor care and abuse. The provider had failed to take all the actions needed to protect people following allegations of abuse and situations where they were put at risk of harm.

Sometimes the staff worked long hours and this meant there was a risk they would not be able to provide the right care for people at all times. Sometimes people could not pursue the activities of their choice because staff did not have the right skills.

Staff were able to understand people's individual communication needs, however, they needed more information and training to make sure they used best practice to enable people to always make informed choices.

People’s care, treatment and support plans reflected their range of needs and this promoted their wellbeing and enjoyment of life. Staff promoted equality and diversity in their support for people. They understood people’s cultural needs and provided culturally appropriate care. People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.

Right culture

The provider was not effectively operating some of their systems which were designed to provide good quality care or mitigate risk. Records about people did not always show respect or understanding of their needs. The staff did not always understand best practice when communicating with people with learning disabilities/and or autism.

There had been improvements to the staff culture which helped to make sure the staff worked together in people's best interests. People and those important to them were involved in planning their care.

For more information, please read the detailed findings section of this report. If you are reading this as a separate summary, the full report can be found on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 9 April 2021 and this was the first inspection.

Why we inspected

We inspected the service based on the date of registration with us.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to safeguarding people from abuse and improper treatment, good governance and staffing at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

We have also made recommendations in relation to supporting people with their communication needs, duty of candour and improving the culture of the service.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.