Blackburn & District Supported Housing Limited

Updated 1 February 2023

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.

As part of this inspection, we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in 2 ‘supported living’ settings, 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 provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was 2 registered managers in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period of notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small, and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us. This also allowed the registered managers time to notify the people they support that we would be visiting.

Inspection activity started on 11 January 2023 and ended on 16 January 2023 when we delivered feedback remotely. We visited the location’s office/service on 11 and 12 January 2023.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since registration. We sought feedback from the local authority, and 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 3 people who used the service and 1 relative. We spoke with 5 members of staff including support workers and both registered managers (1 of which was also the nominated individual). The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. During the inspection, we visited some people's own homes, and we reviewed a range of records. This included reviewing 3 people's care records in detail. During the inspection we also looked at a variety of medicines records and documentation and the storage of medicines. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment as well as a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.

Updated 1 February 2023

About the service

Blackburn & District Supported Housing Limited is registered to provide both supported living services and domiciliary care services to people who require personal care. The service was not providing domiciliary care at the time of inspection. The service provides support to younger adults and older people with a physical disability, sensory impairment, learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder. At the time of our inspection there were 9 people using the service. The service supported people across 2 sites in their own homes.

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.

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. Appropriate staffing levels were in place, though recruitment processes needed to be more robust. We made a recommendation about this. People’s homes and communal areas was clean and tidy, though we did find that some infection control processes could be improved. The registered managers were quick to rectify this during our visit. Staff received appropriate support and training to carry out their roles. People were supported with their healthcare needs and staff supported people to eat, drink and prepare food in line with their abilities. People took part in activities and spoke positively about this and were supported to maintain relationships with loved ones.

Right Care:

People received person centred care and records reflected this. Medicines were being safely administered, though paperwork relating to medicines needed improving. We made a recommendation about this. People’s needs were assessed and details of this was recorded in peoples care plans. People's equality and diversity needs were respected, and people were supported to be independent. People’s records were securely stored, and staff were kind and considerate. People were able to express their views and could access advocacy services should they need to. No one in the service was end of life, though some people had provisions in place such a funeral plans. The registered managers had previously supported LeDer (Learning Disabilities Mortality Review) following a death in the service, and complied with their request for information.

Right Culture:

Quality assurance systems needed to be more robust. We made a recommendation about this. The registered managers knew about their responsibility to be open and honest and were supportive of our inspection. Staff meetings and meetings with people who use the service were taking place and relatives were kept up to date during visits or over the telephone. Surveys for people had been conducted, but staff and relative surveys had not. The registered managers told us they would look to action this. The service had a positive and open culture and staff told us they enjoyed their roles. Feedback about the management was positive. Staff worked in partnership with various agencies and health professionals to ensure people received the required support. Processes were in place to safeguard people and appropriate risk assessments were in place. There was limited examples of lessons learned and the registered managers told us how they would look to improve this. People’s communication needs were being met and a complaints process was in place, though there had been no recent concerns raised.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

This service was registered with us on 7 January 2022, and this is the first inspection under it’s new registration. The service was previously registered with us under the name of Grantham Street, which was rated good.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Recommendations

We have made recommendations in relation to recruitment, medicines and governance.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.