Supported Living UK

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

People’s support and communication needs were assessed prior to admission. Staff knew people’s individual needs and preferences, and how to support them safely. Support needs assessments were done in consultation with the person, their family members and healthcare professionals. The provider ensured individual adaptations were in place prior to the person moving into the service. People were supported to make their own decisions and asked for their consent for care and support. Where people lacked capacity to make specific decisions, staff followed the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the relevant Code of Practice which protected people’s rights.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider ensured people’s needs were assessed and reviewed before they moved in and throughout their settling in period. People’s care plans had detailed and comprehensive guidance for staff on how to support people with their risks, needs, preferences and choices and who was involved and to be consulted about their care. The design of the service and people’s individual support enabled people to do what they wanted, to build their skills and to achieve their individual goals.

People’s relatives told us staff involved them in the assessments of people’s needs which supported staff to better understand people. Relatives said, “I went to visit the home before [person] moved there, and I was involved in planning their care”, “I think [staff] do a good job and understand him” and “[Staff] seem to understand [person’s] needs which are quite complex.”

Partners working with the service were positive about how staff assessed and reviewed people’s needs. One healthcare professional working with the service said, “We have experienced the manager and deputy directly attending sessions with the people we’re working with and demonstrating positive engagement. They have also both sought information and feedback from us and kept us informed of key events going on in people’s lives.”

Staff and leaders ensured people’s needs were robustly assessed and reviewed. Staff said, “We seek reports from healthcare professionals and information from family; this helps us to be sure we can support the person well. We then draw up a care plan which includes all required areas of support”, “Where a person has communication needs, we will adapt to their preferred method of communication and respect this. We use a visual planner for some people which is a picture representation of what the person might want to do” and “When [person] moved in [the registered manager and deputy manager] went through everything to make sure it was right for [person], we wanted to reassure them and now we are making plans together for what they want to do.”

We did not look at Delivering evidence-based care and treatment during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

We did not look at How staff, teams and services work together during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

We did not look at Supporting people to live healthier lives during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

We did not look at Monitoring and improving outcomes during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

The provider had a suitable policy in place in relation to mental capacity and consent. People’s care records included information on how people were consulted, asked for consent and involved in their care and how their representatives were involved in decision making.

People and their relatives told us staff asked for their consent and involved them in their care. People’s relatives who represented people and advocated for them said, “I am always consulted about decisions” and “I am always consulted about medical issues.”

Staff knew their responsibilities around consent and Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA 2005). Staff told us, “We always assume people have capacity and we support them to make informed decisions. We support people to make unwise decisions, for example, having food that is not always healthy. We must respect this and keep discussing this”, “We enable people to make their own choices by demonstrating things to them or showing visual cues” and “It’s about whether people are able to make their own decisions even if it isn’t a wise decision. They have the right to decide.”