Updated 8 March 2019
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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team: One inspector carried out this inspection.
Service and service type: Midshires Supported Living Service is a supported living service registered to provide personal care to people in their own home. Midshires Supported Living Service supported people in five locations. One location was designed as a transition service for people moving in to their own homes in the community. At the time of our inspection 24 people were using the service.
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: We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in.
What we did: Inspection site visit activity started on 13 February 2019 and ended on 15 February 2019. We visited the office location on 13 February 2019 to see the deputy manager and to review care records and policies and procedures. We visited two of the locations where people were supported on 14 and 15 February 2019 to talk to people and staff and review in house policies and procedures relating to people’s care.
Before the inspection we gathered and reviewed information that we received from the provider on the provider information return (PIR). This is a document that the provider sent us saying how they were meeting the regulations, identified any key achievements and any plans for improvement. We also reviewed all information received from external sources such as the local authority and reviews of the service.
During the inspection we:
• Spoke with four people using the service, three care staff, one team leader, the deputy manager, an office administrator and two external commissioners.
• Gathered information from three care files which included all aspects of care and risk.
• Looked at three staff files including all aspects of recruitment, supervisions, and training records.
• Records of accidents, incidents and complaints.
• Audits, surveys and minutes of staff and professional meetings.
• Policies and procedures relating to the management of the service.
Following the inspection, we received further evidence from the provider showing their quality auditing systems and processes.