Essex Road

Updated 20 July 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

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and one Expert by Experience who spoke with people’s relatives by telephone for feedback on the care provided. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

The service provides care and support to people living in their own 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 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 two people who used the service and six relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, regional manager and support workers. We also spoke with an external activities person who attended the service regularly to support people with arts and crafts.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three 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, training data and quality assurance records were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 20 July 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

Essex Road is a supported living service providing personal care and support to people living with a learning disability, autism or mental health conditions. People lived in individual one bedroom flats located in one adapted building. The flats were spread over three floors and people had access to a garden at the back of the building. Ten people were using the service at the time of the inspection, out of whom seven people received 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

The service supported people to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence. Staff supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision-making.

Staff communicated with people in ways that met their needs.

People were supported by staff to pursue their interests. Staff ensured people had the opportunity to engage in activities which they liked.

Staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life.

Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcome.

Right Care

Staff promoted equality and diversity in their support for people. They understood people’s cultural needs and provided culturally appropriate care.

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs. People were involved in making decisions about their care.

Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it.

People’s care, treatment and support plans reflected their range of needs and this promoted their wellbeing and enjoyment of life.

The service had enough appropriately skilled staff, who were recruited safely, to meet people’s needs and keep them safe.

Right culture

Staff knew and understood people well and were responsive, supporting their aspirations to live a quality life of their choosing. Staff placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did.

People and those important to them were involved in planning their care. The service enabled people and those important to them to worked with staff to develop the service. Staff valued and acted upon people’s views.

The service evaluated the quality of support provided to people, involving the person, their families and other professionals as appropriate.

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

Why we inspected

The provider for this service changed after our last inspection (report published 13 September 2018, rated good).

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 re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.