DSAS- South Network

Updated 6 November 2020

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was completed by three inspectors. Two inspectors visited two supported living properties, whilst the third visited the services’ offices.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in 14 ‘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.

The service had two managers registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave 24 hours’ notice of the inspection due to the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure we had prior information to promote safety. Inspection activity started on 1 October 2020 and finished on 9 October 2020. We visited two supported living properties on 1 October 2020 and the office on 6 October 2020.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 10 members of staff including the two registered managers, four care co-ordinators and four support workers. We also spoke with the nominated individual, who is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We made observations of the interactions between staff and people who used the service.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and medication records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits, policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We spoke with two relatives about their experience of the care and support provided by DSAS South.

Updated 6 November 2020

About the service

DSAS South is a supported living service providing personal care for people with a learning disability, autism or a physical disability. 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 provides personal care and support to 57 people living in 14 supported living properties or in individual flats within a block, so that they can live in their own home as independently as possible. People live on their own or in small groups, each person having their own bedroom and sharing the lounge, bathroom and kitchen. Where required staff either slept in the house to be available in the event of an emergency or stayed awake throughout the night.

The size of properties meets current best practice guidance. This promotes people living in a small domestic style property to enable them to have the opportunity of living a full life.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Care plans, risk assessments and health action plans were regularly reviewed and up to date. These identified people’s support needs and provided guidance for staff how to meet these identified needs. People’s needs for being involved in activities and their communities had been recognised, with additional funding now available. Complaints were responded to appropriately, with support from the Manchester City Council central complaints department. People’s wishes for their support at the end of their lives was discussed and recorded.

There was a clear management structure in place. A quality assurance system was used to monitor and improve the service. People and staff were involved in reviewing their care and support. Staff said they enjoyed working at the service and felt well supported. The service worked well with a range of professionals and had adapted to use more video and telephone conferencing during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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.

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 requires improvement (published 19 June 2019). We met with the provider following the inspection to check the issues found during the inspection were being actioned.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 7 May 2019. The service was rated as requires improvement, with no breaches of regulations. This was the fourth consecutive requires improvement rating.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had made improvements and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Responsive and Well-led which contain those requirements.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for DSAS South on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.