Lester Court

Updated 25 July 2021

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

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in a ‘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 a short period of notice for the inspection because some of the people using it could not consent to a home visit from an inspector. This meant that we had to arrange for a ‘best interests’ decision about this.

What we did before the inspection

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. Our planning took account of the information provided by the registered manager during an Emergency Support Framework (ESF) call on 10 June 2020. ESF calls helped us to give targeted local advice, guidance and support to providers and care staff using a structured framework to guide conversations and help them to respond to emerging issues, and to deliver safe care which protects people's human rights.

We reviewed information we had received about the service since they registered with us. This included any significant incidents that occurred at the service. We also contacted the local authority commissioning and safeguarding teams. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We met and had introductions with all seven people who used the service and spoke with three of them in more detail. Some people living at the service were not fully able to tell us their views and experiences so we carried out observations during the inspection where this was possible of how staff engaged with people. We also spoke with three relatives for their views on the service.

We spoke with seven staff members. This included the registered manager, an area manager, a team leader and four support workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care and medicines records and four staff files in relation to recruitment, training and supervision. We also reviewed records related to the management of the service, which included incident reports, quality assurance checks and minutes of team and management meetings.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found between 26 May and 21 June 2021. We looked at further quality assurance records, training records, staff recruitment documents, an incident report and a range of policies and procedures. We provided feedback to the registered manager and area manager via a teleconference on 2 June 2021.

We also spoke with six health and social care professionals who had experience of working with people who used the service.

Updated 25 July 2021

About the service

Lester Court is a supported living service that provides personal care for up to seven people with a learning disability and/or autistic people. At the time of the inspection seven people were living at the service.

People lived in their own flats, which included a kitchen, a living and dining area and their own bathroom. There was a communal kitchen and dining room on the ground floor, with access to a secure garden.

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

People and their relatives were positive about the open environment of the service and the caring attitude of the staff and management team. One relative said, “They are all very friendly. [Family member] is happy there and now has a place they can call their own.”

People were encouraged to be part of their local community and staff supported them to local parks and amenities, including local day centres and areas of interest. People were also supported to be as independent as possible, which included support with cooking and understanding money management.

People were supported to manage their health conditions and staff worked closely with a range of health and social care professionals to provide advice and guidance. People were supported by staff who had a good understanding of their routines and behaviours and knew how to support them if they became distressed, anxious or upset.

People and their relatives were given opportunities to feedback about the service and the provider had put measures in place to address any issues and make improvements to people’s care.

People were supported by a staff team who felt supported, appreciated and valued in their role, especially during challenging periods during the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff praised the registered manager and were confident they would take the appropriate action that was right for people and the staff team.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. The service was person centred and developed specifically for people from the local area who wished to return there to be closer to their families. There was a supportive transition process and people were supported to access their local community. The provider involved people in choosing preferences for their flats and got to meet new people who were planning to move into the service. The model of care was consistent with best practice which focused on people’s human rights with positive behaviour support plans in place to help staff understand how to provide safe and person centred care.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 12 August 2019 and this is the first inspection. It was scheduled to be inspected in August 2020 but was impacted by COVID-19.

Why we inspected

We carried out this inspection following a routine review of information we held about this service. Our intelligence indicated there may be a higher level of risk at this service due to the length of time it had been registered and not been inspected.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service. If we receive any concerning information we may return to inspect.