Halton Supported Housing Network

Updated 4 April 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.’

This was a comprehensive inspection which took place on 7 February 2018 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection because they provided support in people’s own homes and we needed to be sure people would agree to our visit and be available to talk with us when we called. We needed therefore to be sure that staff and people who used the service would be in.

The inspection was undertaken by two adult social care inspectors.

Prior to the inspection we had spoken with a family member of a person who used the service about the standards of care and support provided. We also spoke with local authority staff from safeguarding and contracts and commissioning teams as well as social workers who had involvement with people who used the service. As part of our inspection planning we also reviewed other information about the service including statutory notifications received from the provider. These statutory notifications include important events and occurrences which the provider is required to send to us by law.

During our inspection we spoke with eight people who used the service and five of their relatives. With their permission we spoke with four people who used the service within their own homes and four other people on the telephone. We spoke with seven care staff members, two human resource staff members, the registered manager and the divisional manager.

We viewed four people’s care files, four staff files, medication records, complaints and compliments file, recruitment and training files and a records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 4 April 2018

Halton Supported Housing Network consists of 19 houses. The service provides accommodation with support in the community for adults with learning disabilities and physical disabilities. The service provides staff to support people within their own homes with a variety of support packages based on their individual needs. There were 54 people using the service at the time of our visit.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and on-going monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

People were protected from abuse and harm because staff understood how to recognise and report safeguarding concerns. Risks to people’s safety were assessed and mitigated. This included risks associated with people’s care and the environment.

The Mental Capacity Act (MCA) provides a legal framework for making particular decisions on behalf of people who may lack the mental capacity to do so for themselves. People had their capacity assessed appropriately. The service knew who had appointed lasting powers of attorney for either finances or health, and these people were asked to consent on behalf of the person if they lacked the capacity to do this for themselves.

Medication was managed safely. There were safe systems in place for the receipt, storage, recording and administration of medication.

Staff were recruited safely. The suitability of staff was assessed prior to them being offered a position. This included a check on their criminal background, previous work history, skills and qualifications.

Staff received training and support for their individual role to include robust induction, supervision and appraisals.

People told us the care provided was good and staff understood peoples' needs.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives which included details of their wishes in respect of their end of life care. Staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible and the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

There was a robust complaints policy in place to ensure people’s concerns and complaints were listened to and acted upon within a given timescale.

The service was well led. People told us the registered manager was open, transparent and supportive. Notifications and accident and incident forms were submitted as appropriate. There were effective quality assurance systems in place to make sure that any areas for improvement were identified and addressed.

Further information is in the detailed findings below