Shared Approach Limited

Updated 30 May 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

One inspector, one assistant inspector and an Expert by Experience carried out this inspection. 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:

Shared Approach Limited provides care and support to people living in 12 supported living settings, so 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 three days’ notice of the inspection site visit because we needed to be sure that they would be in.

What we did:

Before our inspection, we checked the information we held about Shared Approach Limited. This included notifications the registered provider sent us about incidents that affect the health, safety and welfare of people who received support.

We also contacted the commissioning and contracts departments at Lancashire County Council and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is the local consumer champion for health and social care services. They give consumers a voice by collecting their views, concerns and compliments through their engagement work. This helped us to gain a balanced overview of what people experienced when they received support at Shared Approach Limited.

We looked at information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. All the information gathered before our inspection went into completing our planning document that guides the inspection. The planning document allows key lines of enquiry to be investigated focusing on any current concerns, areas of risk and good or outstanding practice.

During this inspection, we visited three homes, we met 11 people who received support and were able to interview four of them. We spoke with the registered manager, eight relatives, three members of the management team, four house managers and 12 support workers. During our visit training was taking place. We joined the training event and reviewed the information being delivered. We attended a coffee morning held at the office and met people and observed their interactions with staff and management. We looked at the care records of nine people, recruitment and training records of four staff members, and records relating to the administration of medicines and the management of the service. We looked at what quality audit tools and data management systems the registered manager had.

We used all the information gathered to inform our judgements about the fundamental standards of quality and safety of the service delivered by Shared Approach Limited.

Updated 30 May 2019

About the service:

Shared Approach Limited provides a supported living service to people with learning difficulties within their own homes so they can live as independently as possible. At the time of the inspection the service was providing personal care to 29 people who were living in their own homes.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

People’s experience of using this service:

The service people received was flexible and supported people with limited communication to lead unique and valued lives that incorporated their preferences, cultural heritage and met their needs. Staff knew people well and could tell us how they managed risk and behaviours that challenge that respected the person and supported their dignity. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff told us they had appropriate training, knowledge and support to keep people safe. Observations showed people were comfortable in the company of staff. People and their relatives we spoke with felt confident in the management. They told us there was a caring culture within the service and staffing levels were appropriate.

It was clear staff morale was good and everyone was committed to ensuring people received care and support based on their preferences and life choices. The registered manager told us the low staff turnover allowed positive relationships to be built with people receiving support and strong teamwork to develop. Staff felt well supported and expressed they were happy in their role.

People and their relatives had been involved in the development of their care plans. These were regularly reviewed to reflect people's current needs. The management of risk was included within the care plan to minimise the likelihood of preventable harm occurring. Staff files we looked at showed the registered manager used the same safe recruitment procedures we found at our last inspection. Staff told us training was ongoing and they were supported to gain vocational qualifications in health and social care.

There was a complaints procedure which was made available to people and their family. People we spoke with told us they were happy with the support they received. Relatives we spoke with told they were happy with the care and support delivered. The service continued to have good oversight of relevant procedures through monitoring and auditing to ensure people received effective support and the service was well led.

We noted activities were provided as part of the care people received. Staff told us they supported people to activities that enhanced their physical and mental wellbeing. The service engaged with outside agencies to ensure people received timely healthcare support. Staff received training to ensure people’s clinical health needs were met daily within their home environment. The management team engaged with other agencies to gain updates on legislation, best practice and learn from other providers experiences.

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection the service was rated good (published 07 December 2016).

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any issues or concerns are identified, we may inspect sooner.

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