BCP Supported Living Service

Updated 6 July 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in two 'supported living' settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. It also provides domiciliary care to people in the own homes. 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.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post. However, they were not present for the site visit. We have included references to the registered manager within this report as this was information gained during meetings outside of the site visit.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider, registered manager, or member of senior staff would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was registered with us. We sought feedback from a local authority service improvement and safeguarding teams. The provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with and spent time with 9 people who used the service and 4 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with and received feedback from 14 members of staff including, senior care officers, business support officer, head of service and support workers. We spent time observing staff interactions with people. We received feedback from 1 health and social care professional who gave their view of working with the service.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 5 people's care records and 3 medication records. We looked at 3 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.

Updated 6 July 2023

About the service

BCP Supported Living Service is a domiciliary care and supported living provider delivering person care and support to people in their own houses and flats. At the time of our inspection there were 29 people receiving personal care and support.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

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

Right Culture

Improvements had been made to the governance systems and oversight of the service. The registered manager and provider had implemented various audits and checks to ensure the service was monitored, safe and continually improved. The registered manager and staff understood their role and responsibilities.

The provider sought feedback on the service it provided, this information and outcomes were used to drive improvement. People felt involved in the service and this supported them to have opportunities in their local community and services. Leadership was visible and the feedback was positive about the management of the service. Staff felt appreciated in their role and were proud to work at the service. The service had made good links with the local and wider community.

Right Support

There were enough staff to meet the needs of the service. Recruitment processes were in place to ensure staff had the necessary checks before starting work with the service. There was a significant and sustained improvement with staff training. The service offered a wide range of subjects, ensuring staff had the necessary information they needed to support people. Competency assessments meant staff applied their training safely. People were protected from avoidable harm by a staff team who knew how to raise safeguarding concerns, both within the service and outside. Staff told us they were confident their concerns would be acted upon by the registered manager.

Risks to people had been identified, assessed and actions taken to reduce them, this included environmental risks. Staff knew people well and risk assessments covered all aspects of their daily care, support and outside of their home. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were supported to access environmental improvements and the registered manager and provider were in continual communication with the housing provider.

Right Care

People, relatives, and staff told us people were safe in the care and support provided by BCP Supported Living Service. Staff knew how to recognise and report concerns, they were confident they would be followed up by the registered manager. Medicines were managed safely, and infection, prevention and control procedures were robust. Recruitment procedures were in place and the necessary checks on staff had been made.

People had access to healthcare services as required. People were supported and encouraged to live full lives and staff ensured their rights were fully respected. Consent was obtained from people and their loved ones involved in supporting them, to make decisions about their lives. Accidents and incidents were recorded, analysed for themes and trends. People and relatives were complimentary about staff support and we observed many kind interactions.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 26 May 2022).

The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found the provider had made the required improvements and was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 3 May 2022. A breach of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At our last inspection we found a breach in relation to the governance systems within the service.

We undertook this focused inspection to check the service had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for BCP Supported Living Service on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.