Consensus Community Support Limited- Redan Street

Consensus Community Support Limited -Redan Street is a domiciliary care service which is registered to provide people with personal care. The service has four ‘supported living’ environments that operate in Suffolk and Essex, providing personal care to people who have a learning disability and may have complex needs. Staff support is available up to 24 hours per day. At the time of the inspection there were 19 people who used the service.

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.

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

A positive and empowering culture had been firmly established within the service. This meant people were supported by exceptionally caring and attentive staff that knew them well and helped them to achieve their potential. Care was inclusive, bespoke to the individual and delivered by committed and dedicated staff. People’s rights to independence, dignity privacy was consistently promoted, and their choices encouraged and respected.

The leadership of the service was outstanding. Robust quality assurance systems had sustained continual development and improvement throughout the service resulting in positive outcomes for people. The registered manager, supported by their senior management team, had established a person- centered culture amongst the staff team, that consistently delivered high quality care.

Staff and the management team were passionate and motivated about their roles and understood their responsibilities. They actively engaged and included people, their relatives and professionals in the ongoing design and delivery of their care and support. Without exception feedback about the service was complimentary about the caring, attentive nature and approach of the staff and management team. It was evident that feedback was valued and used to further enhance people’s experience of using the service.

Staff were skilled in communicating and understanding the needs of the people they supported. There continued to be enough staff safely recruited, trained and supported appropriately in their roles to care and meet people’s needs.

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.

Risks to people were assessed and mitigated, which reduced the likelihood of harm. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s risks and how to care for them safely. They understood how to protect and safeguard people and demonstrated a transparent attitude to reporting concerns.

Where people required support with their dietary needs, health and their medicines, this was done safely and effectively. Infection control processes protected people from the risks of cross infection.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

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.

Since our last inspection, the service has grown from strength to strength. Clear leadership and effective management had led to a visibly person-centered culture that was embedded throughout the service. This consistently delivered high quality care and support achieving positive outcomes for people. This was underpinned by the provider’s principles, values and expectations of staff which demonstrate the characteristics of an outstanding service.

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 27 June 2016)

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.

This was an announced inspection. Three of the premises we planned to visit covered a large geographical area which required time to arrange with the provider. Therefore the provider was given 72 hours’ notice because the people living in the supported living accommodations’ have complex needs and can need time to prepare to take part in the inspection.

A registered manager had not been in post since 6 August 2016. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons.’ Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The provider’s regional area manager was in the process of registering with the CQC. They were supported by three managers who were in day to day charge of the four supported living premises.

The service was exceptionally well led. There was visible and effective leadership within the service. The service was effectively organised and well run with an open and transparent culture. The management team demonstrated how their robust quality assurance systems had sustained continual development and improvement at the service. They were clear about their expectations relating to how the service should be provided and led by example.

Retention of staff was good and supported continuity of care. Support workers enjoyed their jobs and understood their roles and responsibilities. They were passionate about the care and support they delivered to people and were positive about the way the service was managed and how they were supported to professionally develop.

Ensuring people received personalised care and support which enhanced their quality of life was integral to the running of the service. An enabling and supportive culture focused on meeting the individual needs of people within their supported living environments’ had been established.

People and or their representatives, where appropriate, were involved in making decisions about their care and support arrangements. As a result people received tailored care and support which was effectively planned and delivered to meet their specific needs, take account of their wishes and keep them safe. This led to people experiencing an excellent service which was distinctive to their individual needs.

People and their relatives were complimentary about the care provided. They told us their support workers were kind and attentive and they trusted them to come into their homes. They described how they received safe and effective care by, support workers who knew them well and encouraged them to be as independent as possible and to achieve their goals and aspirations.

There were robust procedures and processes to ensure the safety of the people who used the service. These included risk assessments which identified how the risks to people were minimised but also ensured their rights and choices were respected.

Support workers had received safeguarding training and understood what actions to take to protect people from abuse. They were able to confidently describe the different types of abuse that may occur and how it should be reported.

Where people required assistance to take their medicines there were appropriate arrangements in place to provide this support safely.

There were sufficient numbers of support workers who had been recruited safely and who had the skills and knowledge to provide care and support to people in the way they preferred. Support workers respected people’s privacy and dignity and interacted with people in a caring, compassionate and professional manner. They were knowledgeable about people’s choices, views and preferences.

Staff understood the need to obtain consent when providing care. 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.

People were encouraged and supported to attend appointments with other health care professionals to maintain their health and well-being. Where people required assistance with their dietary needs there were systems in place to provide this support safely.

Support workers were proactive in making sure that people were able to maintain relationships that mattered to them such as family, community and other social links. This protected people from the risks of social isolation and loneliness.

There was a complaints procedure in place and people knew how to voice their concerns if they were unhappy with the care they received. Feedback including comments, concerns and complaints were appropriately investigated and responded to and used to improve the quality of the service.