Freedom Supported Living Registered Office

Freedom Supported Living is registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. The service specialises in providing support to people with a learning disability. Support is provided to both individuals and to people living in small group settings. At the time of our inspection there were four people using the service.

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

People were protected from the risk of abuse and avoidable harm by staff who understood how to recognise and respond to concerns. The service ensured any incidents were recorded and investigated. Systems were in place to promote learning and improvement from any incidents to avoid them happening. People were supported to manage the risks in their daily lives. Positive risk-taking strategies maximised people's opportunities to engage in activities. Staff had been recruited safely and people were involved in recruiting their staff. At the time of the inspection no one was receiving medication, but we saw that staff had received appropriate training in medication.

People's needs had been thoroughly assessed and care plans were detailed. Due to the service being small staff knew the people extremely well and felt the care plans provided enough information to understand what support the person needed. Staff had received regular training and supervision to support them to meet people's needs. A comprehensive induction programme ensured new staff had a good understanding of their role and the values of the organisation. People were supported to maintain their health and wellbeing, through access to a range of health services.

The service was compliant with the Mental Capacity Act. 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. The service promoted people's choices.

People received person-centred care which was responsive to their needs. Care and support plans had been regularly reviewed to reflect any changes in the person’s needs and wishes. People had been referred for further input from professionals when required. People were encouraged to raise any concerns. No formal complaints had been received.

The registered manager failed to return the PIR, which is information we request prior to inspection. This has impacted on the rating. The registered manager was committed to providing high-quality, person-centred care. Staff spoke highly of the registered manager and the values they set. Roles and responsibilities were clear. Regular audits ensured care was provided effectively and records were accurately maintained.

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 (January 2017)

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.

Freedom Supported Living is registered to provide personal care to people in their own homes. The service specialises in providing support to people with a learning disability. Support is provided both to individuals and to people living in small group settings. At the time of our inspection there were four people using the service.

The provider had a registered manager in place as required by the conditions of their registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). 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 registered manager was also the sole director of the company which owned the service.

People told us they felt safe with the staff that supported them and considered staff had the right skills and experience to meet their needs. They told us staff were kind, caring and respectful of the fact that they were supporting them in their own homes.

Staff had received training in safeguarding adults. They were able to tell us of the action they would take to protect people who used the service from the risk of abuse. They told us they considered they would be fully supported by the registered manager should they report any concerns.

People who used the service were involved in the recruitment of staff; this helped to ensure staff had the appropriate qualities and interests to support people to achieve their goals. Recruitment processes in the service were sufficiently robust to protect people from the risk of unsuitable staff.

Systems were in place to help ensure the safe administration of medicines. Although people who used the service were responsible for the administration of their own medicines at the time of this inspection, we noted all staff had completed training in the safe handling of medicines; this helped to ensure they were able to support people to take their medicines as prescribed should this be necessary.

Staff were aware of how to manage risks of cross infection. We noted people who used the service were supported to maintain the cleanliness and safety of their homes.

Staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and where necessary had taken appropriate action to safeguard the rights of people who used the service. People told us staff always respected the choices and decisions they made.

Systems to monitor staff training had improved since our last inspection. An annual training plan was in place and staff were clear about when refresher training was required. Staff also received regular supervision to help ensure they were able to provide effective support to people who used the service.

People who used the service received the support they needed to attend health appointments. Staff encouraged people to make healthy nutritional choices.

There were opportunities for people who used the service to comment on the support they received. We noted that people had been involved in review meetings to help ensure they were supported to achieve the goals which were important to them.

Staff we spoke with told us they enjoyed working in the service. All the people we spoke with told us the registered manager was supportive and approachable. People who used the service told us they felt able to contact the registered manager or any other member of staff should they have any concerns regarding the support they received.

Quality assurance systems had improved since our last inspection. Regular audits took place to check that records relating to the care people received were up to date and accurate. Environmental checks also took place to help ensure the safety of the environments in which people lived.

People told us they had choice about how their support needs were met. We saw people were involved in planning and reviewing their care.

We found people received care and support which met their needs and protected their rights.

We found there were systems in place for the safe administration of medicines.

We found staffing levels were sufficient to meet the needs of people and staff were professional, caring and friendly.

We found suitable arrangements were in place to manage an effective process for identifying, receiving and handling complaints for people who received a service from Freedom Supported Living.

Following the inspection visit the provider sent an action plan informing us the recruitment and selection procedure had been amended and a process of quality assurance mechanisms had been put into place. We were told that records relating to training and supervision of staff had been improved.

We spoke with three people who used the service, all of whom told us they were extremely happy with the support they received. One person told us, 'I get fantastic support from Freedom', while another commented, 'I get the support I need to do anything I want to do'.

We revisited the service and looked at the records of the four staff employed by the service. We found the necessary arrangements were in place to ensure people were protected from unsuitable staff.

We spoke with one member of staff who told us they felt well supported and confident in carrying out their responsibilities. We saw evidence that staff were provided with training relevant to their role.

We found that there were adequate systems in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of the service people received.