Natural Networks - Individualised Support Service

Updated 30 December 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.

Inspection team

This inspection was completed by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in ‘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 a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period 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.

Inspection activity started on 16 November 2023 and ended on 27 November 2023. We visited 1 person using the service on 27 November 2023.

What we did before the 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

This inspection was carried out without a visit to the location’s office. We reviewed all records remotely and conducted telephone calls to engage with staff.

We reviewed 1 person’s care records and medicine administration records. We looked at 4 staff files in relation to recruitment and a range of other records relating to the running of the service.

We visited 1 person who used the service to gather their feedback and make observations of the care they received. We spoke with 2 staff and the registered manager.

Updated 30 December 2023

About the service

Natural Networks – Individualised Support Service provides care and support to people living in ‘supported living’ settings, so they can live in their own home 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.

At the time of our inspection the service was supporting 1 person with personal care and support.

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

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right Support

People were supported by staff to pursue their interests and achieve individual goals and aspirations.

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.

People had the support they needed to make decisions following best practice in decision-making.

People accessed specialist health and social care support in the community. Staff supported people to play an active role in maintaining their own health and wellbeing.

Risks to people’s health, safety and well-being had been assessed and staff supported people to remain safe. People were supported with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcome.

Right Care

Staff spoke respectfully about people and treated them with compassion. Positive relationships had been developed between staff and people supported. Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity.

Staff understood and responded to people’s individual needs and worked well other agencies to ensure they received the right support and were protected from abuse. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it.

The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people's needs and keep them safe. People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs.

People's care and support plans reflected their range of needs, and this promoted their wellbeing. People and those important to them, were involved in planning their care.

Right Culture

The registered manager and staff team were passionate about creating a culture where people’s wishes, needs and rights were at the heart of the service. Care and support records were written in a way that truly showed people’s personalised, needs and wishes.

The leadership of the service had worked hard to create a learning culture where the whole organisation, including people using the service, had a role in improving the support people received.

People's quality of life was enhanced by the service's culture of improvement and inclusivity. Staff evaluated the quality of support provided to people, involving the person, their families and other professionals as appropriate.

Robust checks were competed on the service to ensure people received high quality, safe care.

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 the service at the previous premises was good, published on 2 February 2018.

Why we inspected

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

Follow up

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