About the service The Supported Living and Domiciliary Care Service is run by the Epilepsy Society and provides personal care to people living in a supported living accommodation and to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection 12 people were supported in a supported living environment and 17 people were provided with support in their own homes.
The supported living accommodation had a staff office and people had their own flat which were shared with either two or four people. The service supported people with a range of needs which included learning disabilities, autism, epilepsy and physical disabilities.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were happy with the service provided. They had positive relationships with staff and described staff as “Fantastic, helpful, always encouraging”.
People told us they felt safe and systems were in place to safeguard people. Risks to them were identified and managed. The support required with medicines was assessed, agreed and provided to people. Infection control measures were in place to prevent cross infection. Staff were suitably recruited. People were supported by a consistent staff team and the staffing levels were flexible to enable the service to provide a bespoke service to people.
People were supported by staff who were inducted, trained and supervised. The support required by people with health and nutritional needs was identified and provided. 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.
People confirmed staff were kind and caring. Their privacy and independence were promoted.
Systems were in place to deal with concerns and complaints. This enabled people to raise concerns about their care if they needed to.
People had person centred care plans in place. They were actively involved in their care and contributed to the development of care plans and reviews. Some people had staff support to access activities and holidays. This was flexible and provided in response to people’s choices. People’s communication needs were identified, and their end of life wishes were explored and recorded.
People were supported by a service that was well managed. Records were organised, accessible and up to date. The service was audited, and action taken to address any areas they had identified that needed improving. People and staff were complimentary of the management team and described them as “Accessible, approachable, caring and positive role models”. Staff felt empowered and committed to providing good outcomes for people.
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 was good (published 3 November 2016)
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
The overall rating for the service remains unchanged and the service is rated good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
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.