The Marlowes

Updated 28 June 2022

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

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.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection the registered manager was in the process of de-registering and another manager was appointed.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection because we needed people’s consent to a home visit from an inspector. This meant that we had to arrange for a visit at a time suitable for people.

Inspection activity started on 05 May 2022 and ended on 19 of May 2022. We visited the service on 12 May 2022.

What we did before the inspection

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 the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three members of staff, the manager, the regional operation manager and four health and social care professionals involved in people’s care. We spoke and observed one person who agreed for us to visit them how they interacted with staff and the manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people's care records and one person’s medication records. We looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 28 June 2022

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.

About the service

The Marlowes is a supported living service providing personal care to people living with a learning disability and/or autism in their own flats. At the time of our inspection there were two people using the service who received the regulated activity of personal care.

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.

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

Right Support

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 manager and the provider promoted care and support for people which focused on people’s strengths and promoted their independence. People were encouraged to take positive risks and take part in activities and pursue their interests.

Right Care

Staff showed kindness and compassion when supporting people. People trusted and approached staff with confidence and joy. Staff supported people they way they wanted and helped them stay safe and enjoy their life.

Staff received training and support to understand each person’s needs and their support had a positive impact on people’s lives. People were actively involved in their care and the manager was working to develop new care plans for each person. Key workers were allocated to each person to ensure people had regular input and were involved in evaluating their progress, goals and achievements.

Right Culture

The manager and the provider promoted a positive, inclusive culture amongst the staff team. Staff morale was good following the changes in management structure and service model operated by the provider. Staff felt listened and enabled to support people in a personalised and safe way.

The manager and the provider used a range of audits and governance systems to quality assure the service provided. The audits were effective to identify where improvements were needed. An action plan was in place to detail what actions were taken and if these were effective to drive improvements.

Staff received training and understood best practice when supporting people with a learning disability and/or autism. People and their representatives were involved in their care and their views and choices were resected. Staff felt valued and involved in developing the service to improve people’s outcomes.

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 03 July 2020and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of Right support right care right culture.

Follow up

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