Archived: Evergreen

Updated 23 October 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. 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

Two inspectors completed the inspection.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in three bedroom ‘supported living’ setting, 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.

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. This was because the service is small and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

What we did before the inspection

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

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 all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with two members of staff including the regional manager and care workers. The registered manager was on annual leave at the time of the inspection.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and two medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We spoke with another staff member and one more relative.

Updated 23 October 2019

About the service

Evergreen is a supported living service providing care for people with learning disabilities and/or autism spectrum disorder. The service can support up to three people, at the time of inspection two people were using the service.

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 at the service had not always felt safe because the provider had been slow to protect them from the impact of one person’s distressed behaviour. Although the person no longer lived at the service people were still affected by the incidents that had occurred.

Concerns raised about the service had not always been recorded as complaints. Where complaints has been recorded the registered manager had met with people using the service to discuss their concerns.

People were involved in deciding and planning the care they received and had regular key worker meetings to discuss their experiences. However, on many occasions people had raised concerns and the registered manager had failed to provide any further support to them or identified this feedback as a complaint.

People were supported to eat and drink enough. People were supported to complete their own shopping each week and encouraged to make their own meals.

People were supported with regular health appointments and referred for specialist support when required. Staff had received induction training and had the skills and knowledge needed to support people. Staff members received regular supervisions with management and attended staff team meetings. Staff felt supported by the registered manager and felt able to discuss any concerns they had with them.

Staff had developed positive and caring relationships with the people they supported. They had time to spend with people and opportunities to listen and talk to them. People were treated with dignity and respect. People’s care was personalised and responsive to their needs. Staff were knowledgeable of people’s needs and understood the importance of treating them as individuals.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

This service was registered with us on 07/11/2018 and this is the first inspection.

The last rating for this service was Good (published 24 October 2018). Since this rating was awarded the registered provider of the service has changed. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating. We have found that the provider needs to make improvement. Please see the Responsive and Well-Led sections of this full report.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to the governance of the service and in the way that complaints and concerns are being managed at this inspection.

Follow up

We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.