Kings Lynn Supported Living

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

There had been incidents between people at one of the houses, but the service was managing these and the families felt they were informed of safeguarding outcomes. One relative told us “There’s always someone (staff) nearby and there’s sleeping staff at night. And although staff are not always present in the home, “They let her know where they are'. We found that the service had been proactive in working with the GP surgery to review people’s medication where necessary. Our observations were positive with staff responding appropriately to people's needs in a timely manner and providing reassurance.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

People told us that staff supported them in the way they wanted. Adequate and appropriate staffing ensured that people received the level of care they needed. People's independence was promoted and staff supported people to create their own personal space within the home. A family member told us that " It took 4 or 5 months to arrange for T to move to Waterden Close”. Making the decision to move T was not easy no” and that the transition was phased over a period of time so T could adapt to her new environment, They they showed her what was possible, and now she is enjoying a new life".

Staff spoken with demonstrated a good ethos and a willingness to support people and help them engage in different activities and wanted people to progress. Staff told us about the different things they had tried with people and were aware of their needs. Staff had received the relevant training and team meetings served as a learning opportunity.

Our observations were positive with people supported in line with their needs and in a timely way. People appeared relaxed and maintaining a good level of communication with staff supporting them through nonverbal cues. Throughout the day staff supported people to go out and engage in different activities. We noted however on our first visit that people's daily records were not being completed effectively. There was a marked improvement during our second visit.

People were very integrated within the community and had busy social lives. Some of the people accessed the Hub (day centre) on certain days, while there were other activities like horse riding and trips to the zoo. People attended social events and discos with their peers, supported by staff. The location is within a busy town and people told us that there was lots to do and many places to visit.

Staff told us that they were happy to support people to live a normal life as part of the community. Staff told us that people in town got to know the residents well and treated them with compassion. People were supported to develop and maintain meaningful relationships and friendships with their peers. one person had been on holiday and was planning a cruise with the help of staff.

We received positive feedback from professionals on how the service was supporting people. One person told us of the experience working with the management and staff team. They remarked, "Communication is good and when compromise and flexibility is needed regarding service users, we are almost always able to come up with a plan that works for everyone. We have met most of the support team and we find them all to be approachable and professional".

There were processes in place to ensure people were safe when accessing the community. Care plans detailed how and when people accessed the community. Risk assessments were sometimes generic and had not been tailored to the specific activity, and sometimes lacked control measures. this was being addressed in the new care planning document.

People had information in an accessible form. The picture plans vividly captured a snapshot of peoples needs ad directed anyone coming into the service. Staff allocation was clear and people had regular meetings to discuss their needs. people told us that they knew how to complain if they had any issues.

The manager told us that accessible information was available for people and their families. People's documentation was stored within their bedrooms, and staff routinely asked for permission to access their documents. Family members we spoke to said they were kept informed of how their relatives were getting on in the service. One person we spoke to told us that he has regular contact with his sister and that “yes we (family) are very much involved, very much so”. He told us that “We used to go regularly to the reviews”.

Easy read and accessible information was available to take into account peoples needs and legislation around The Data Protection Act 2018 and meeting accessible communication standards 2016. People had regular reviews with families and other professionals involved.

People told us that the staff and managers listened to them. One person said " the staff are good with me, especially when I get anxious. they help to keep me calm and focus on things that are important". We observed people making decisions around the support they required.

Staff told us that they knew people well and were always keen to listen to what people wanted from the staff. We observed supportive interactions with staff prompting and enabling people to make decisions. Staff were efficient and not overbearing in their interaction with people, which made for a lively and happy environment.

There were team meetings, supervisions and reviews in place to evaluate staff performance and also reflect on staff practices. People were involved in house meetings and raised issues the staff should work on. The service improvement plan also highlighted actions around giving people a voice in decision making.

People were able to access a wide range of services, and had the right staffing to ensure that no appointments were missed. People had busy weekly schedules and told us that they enjoyed going out into the community and carrying out their daily activities. One person told us that staff were supporting them to save up for a holiday. Another person told us that staff gave them advise to ensure they were not overspending online.

Staff felt confident supporting people to access their activities. We observed staff planing activities with people. Staff we spoke to said they felt confident supporting people within the community. Staff told us that people were always keen for new experiences, which made their job easier.

There were processes in place to ensure people could safety access the community. We saw evidence that people were slowly introduced to new activities to ensure they liked it. People had access to the town centre and relied on walking in with staff, taxis and buses. The manager told us of the safety protocols for when people accessed the community independently. However these were not clearly recorded in risk assessments.

One person told us that they had recently completed their horse riding training, but would still attend due to the bond they had with the horses and also meeting their friends. The family of a person that had just moved into the service told us "My sister moved in after living with mum for 60 years. She was on a lot of medication, which they have adjusted with the GP. The staff are engaging with her well and she is a lot happier".

Staff told us that team work was essential to keeping safe and focused on their activities. Staff always accompanied people where appropriate, and staff were also keen to take part alongside the people they were supporting. A staff member told us that people's achievements were celebrated, outcomes were recorded within people's support plans.

Rotas and staff allocation boards were in place showing how people got their shared and individual hours. The management team made sure that commissioned hours were being delivered.

People were being supported to plan for the future. One person told us that she used to live with others and had always wanted to be more independent and live on her own. The service had supported her and she now lived in her own flat and had more control over her life. Families we spoke to said they had not had detailed conversations around end of life care.

The manager told us that given the varying ages of the people, the service worked with people to capture their aspirations for the future an support them to set realistic goals for the future. Staff told us that it was very rewarding to see people achieve their aspirations. Staff told us that they had not had any end of life planning conversations with people or their families.

Care plans took into account peoples wishes and aspirations for the future. However people did not have respect forms in place, and one person's care plan we reviewed did not have a section for end of life planning.