Creative Support - Tameside Intense Support Service

Updated 12 July 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

The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in eleven ‘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 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 or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we held about the provider, our findings at the last inspection and information shared with us by the public. We sought feedback from other professionals who work with the service. 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. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, the specialist practitioner, support workers and office staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three 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 made telephone calls to three relatives of people using the service and calls to an additional two members of staff to obtain their views about the service.

Updated 12 July 2019

About the service

Creative Support Tameside Intense Support Service specialise in supporting people who may be at risk of committing criminal offences and who have extreme behaviours. People they support have learning disabilities and may have a mental health diagnosis. The service supports people living in eleven flats across two buildings.

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 were kept safe. The service had an open culture where people were encouraged to raise any concerns they had about people's safety and we saw concerns had been thoroughly investigated. The service had developed processes relating to recruitment and assessing risk to ensure people were kept as safe as possible.

People were supported by staff who were well trained and felt well supported. Staff spent time getting to know the people they supported well which helped them encourage the people using the service to try new things that might interest them.

We observed caring and supportive interactions between staff and people using the service. People we spoke with told us they liked the staff and were very happy in the service. People were encouraged to become more independent and express their views and make decisions about their support.

The service worked hard to ensure people built links with people and organisations in the local community. At the time of our inspection people were volunteering and working for numerous organisations. People were commonly out on activities rather than staying in their flats.

The management team had a focus on continually trying to improve the service. Staff told us they felt involved in developing the service for the benefit of people using it. Feedback from other organisations involved with the service was very positive.

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.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 25 November 2015).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.