NAS Community Services (Somerset)

Updated 25 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

One Inspector and a member of the medicines team carried out the inspection visits and an Expert by Experience made phone calls to people’s relatives. 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 four ‘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.

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 a short period notice of the inspection to ensure people using it consented to a home visit from an inspector. Inspection activity started on 02 August 2022 and ended on 12 August 2022. We visited the location’s office on 03 and 04 August 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we held about 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 received feedback from the local authority. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people and four relatives about the care and support provided. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including training, audits and staff meeting records were reviewed. We requested feedback from five professionals that were involved with people using the service.

Updated 25 August 2022

About the service

NAS Community Services (Somerset) is a supported living service providing personal care and support to people living in their own homes. The service provides support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people. At the time of the inspection eight people were being supported by the service.

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

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.

Right Support

People received their medicines as prescribed for them. However, we found some areas for improvement with medicines records and audits. The service supported people to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence and they had control over their own lives. Staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life. People were supported by staff to pursue their interests. Staff supported people to achieve their aspirations and goals. The service worked with people to plan for when they experienced periods of distress. Staff supported people to take part in activities and pursue their interests in their local area. Staff enabled people to access health and social care support in the community. Staff supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision-making. Staff communicated with people in ways that met their needs.

Right Care

People’s care, treatment and support plans required areas updating to fully reflect their range of needs. People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs. People received care that supported their needs and aspirations, was focused on their quality of life, and followed best practice. People could take part in activities and pursue interests that were tailored to them. The service gave people opportunities to try new activities that enhanced and enriched their lives. Staff and people cooperated to assess risks people might face. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Right Culture:

Improvements were required to ensure a robust system was in place to monitor the quality of the service to people. People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff. People received good quality care, support and treatment because trained staff and specialists could meet their needs and wishes. People were supported by staff who understood best practice in relation to the wide range of strengths, impairments or sensitivities people with a learning disability and/or autistic people may have. This meant 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. Staff placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. The service enabled people and those important to them to work with staff to develop the service. Staff valued and acted upon people’s views. People’s quality of life was enhanced by the service’s culture of improvement and inclusivity.

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

This was the first rating for the service since the service was registered.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. This was the first inspection for the service since registration (registered 05 October 2022) to rate the service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.