FitzRoy Supported Living - Cambridgeshire

Updated 3 January 2020

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection team was one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in two ‘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. This service also provides personal care to people living in their own houses or flats.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave a short period of notice of the inspection because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 12 November 2019 and ended on 20 November 2019. We visited the office location on 12 November 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We met four people who used the service. Only one person used words to communicate and they chose not to speak with us. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, a deputy manager and five support workers.

We looked at a range of records. This included one person’s care and support records, medication records and a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager. We spoke over the telephone with four relatives about their experience of the care and support provided to their family members. We also spoke over the telephone with three members of staff, including another deputy manager. We received feedback from one professional.

Updated 3 January 2020

About the service

FitzRoy Supported Living - Cambridgeshire is a domiciliary care agency providing supported living to adults with learning disabilities and/or autism in their own homes. Everyone who used the service received personal care. The agency was also funded to provide social care and support people in all aspects of daily living, such as meal preparation and household chores.

At the time of the inspection the service was supporting eight people. Four people were sharing a bungalow, called Mayfield. Four other people were living in their own bungalows or houses. Mayfield had an office and staff sleeping-in room in the bungalow’s converted garage. Each of the other bungalows and houses had a sleeping-in room for staff.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

People were happy receiving a service from FitzRoy Supported Living - Cambridgeshire and relatives were effusive in their praise of the service for the support it gave them and their family members. One relative wrote, ‘I want to record…the tremendous gratitude and thanks that [name] and their family owes every member of staff…It is unusual to find such a dedicated and caring place as Mayfield… The staff have seen [name] through some very dark times, but with care and professionalism have guided them and kept them safe and happy.’

Staff were very knowledgeable about how to keep people safe from avoidable harm and abuse; they gave people their medicines safely and followed good infection prevention and control procedures. The provider ensured that lessons were learnt when things went wrong.

Staff had undertaken training and received support from senior staff to ensure they could do their job well. People enjoyed food that they had chosen.

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 had very good relationships with the staff and received kind and compassionate care and support. Staff knew people well and respected people’s privacy and dignity. People were involved in all decisions about their care and staff supported them to be as independent as they wanted to be.

Each person had a detailed, fully personalised support plan, which guided staff on the support the person wanted. Staff worked extremely hard to offer people a wide range of opportunities to try new activities or do things they had previously enjoyed. Staff supported people in totally person-centred ways to lead full and meaningful lives and to maintain or develop relationships.

Relatives were confident their views would be listened to and complaints would be addressed.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

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

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 19 November 2018) and there was a breach of regulation. 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 was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for FitzRoy Supported Living - Cambridgeshire on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.