Dales Community Living Project

Updated 21 May 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.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

Two inspectors carried out the inspection.

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. 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 notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with one person who used the service and two relatives on the telephone about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three members of staff and the registered manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and medicine records. We looked at three staff files in relation to training and a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 21 May 2021

About the service

Dales Community Living Project is a supported living service for people with a learning disability. There were four people receiving a service in their own home within Derbyshire.

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

There were enough staff working in the service to meet people's needs and supporting them to do the things they wanted to do. Additional support had been provided during the COVID-19 pandemic as some work and day services had been closed. Risk assessments helped ensure people received care and support safely with minimum risk to themselves or others. People received their medicines safely and were supported to have responsibility for their own medicines.

Staff were knowledgeable and had the skills necessary to effectively support people. People's healthcare needs were monitored by the staff and additional health care was provided where needed. Staff quickly identified changes to people’s well being to ensure any further support was sought promptly.

Staff were caring and provided people with care that promoted their rights to live an ordinary life. 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 make decisions about the care they received and how they spent their time.

This service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. The culture of the home had been improved and reflected the principles in relation to Right support, right care, right culture. 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 guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

There was a person-centred approach to care and the staff were responsive to people’s needs. People were supported to do the things they wanted to do in their home and when out. The staff demonstrated a clear understanding of the importance of supporting people rights and promoting their independence. Prior to COVID-19 community links had been established and these will be returned to once the restrictions allow.

The service was very well managed and put people at the heart of all they did. The provider had quality assurance systems in place to monitor the service and the quality of the care being delivered. There was an open and transparent culture and it was evident the staff strived to provide the best experience for people.

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 1 October 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the when the service was registered with us..

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.