We carried out a review of the data available to us about Way Ahead Support Services on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Way Ahead Support Services, you can give feedback on this service.
Way Ahead Support Services is a supported living service. This is where people live in their own homes and receive care and/or support in order to promote their independence. Three properties were owned by the provider, but people’s care and housing were provided under separate contractual agreements. One of these properties was a shared bungalow and the other two properties were self-contained flats.
All properties were close to local amenities and people were supported to be part of their local community and live as independently as possible. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living. This inspection looked at people’s personal care and support only. At the time of our inspection, 17 people received personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also considered 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
People felt protected from the risk of abuse because they were supported by kind and caring staff. Staff understood their responsibility to keep people safe and to report any concerns they might have about a person’s welfare.
People were encouraged to pursue hobbies and activities of interest to them and were encouraged to maintain relationships with people who were important to them to reduce isolation and loneliness. Where a person’s needs changed suddenly, the provider was extremely flexible in adapting the staffing levels to ensure people had the care and support they needed.
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.
Risks to people’s health and wellbeing had been identified, assessed and monitored. Records provided staff with information about people’s individual risk’s and what staff needed to do to minimise these risks. Medicines were managed and administered safely, and people told us they received their medicines as they should. Staff understood their responsibility to follow good infection control practices and encouraged this with the people they supported.
People told us they received support in line with their assessed needs and records confirmed there were enough staff to meet these needs. People were supported to express their views and were involved in making decisions about their care. 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 providers policies and systems in the service supported this practice
Staff received training in order to complete their role well and had the right skills to support people in the way people preferred. People’s care and support had been planned in partnership with them and where appropriate, their families. Records showed referrals had been made to other healthcare professionals when necessary to ensure people remained well.
People told us they had enough to eat and drink, and staff respected their choices. Care plans promoted a healthy diet and included information about people’s nutrition and hydration risks and preferences.
The provider had systems and processes in place to monitor and improve the quality of care provided. We found some care records had not been updated in a timely way, but a plan was in place to review this following our inspection.
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 29 June 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.
The service provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. The provider owned three properties where people had private tenancies with the provider. One property was a shared bungalow and the other two properties consisted of self-contained flats. There was a staff room in all three of these buildings, where staff stayed to provide overnight support. Some other people received support in their own homes in the community. At the time of our visit, 25 people received personal care from the service.
The registered manager had been in post since the service was registered. 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.
People told us they felt safe using the service and staff understood how to protect people from abuse. There were processes in place to minimise risks associated with people’s care to keep them safe. This included the completion of risk assessments to identify and manage risks to people’s health and well-being and checks on staff to ensure their suitability to work with people who used the service. People's medicines were managed, stored and administered safely.
There were enough suitably trained staff to deliver care and support to people. Staff received an induction and a programme of training to support them in meeting people’s needs effectively.
The registered manager understood their responsibility to comply with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). For people who were assessed as not having the capacity to make all of their own decisions, records showed that their families, legal representatives and healthcare professionals were involved in making decisions in their best interests. Staff understood the principles of the MCA, they respected people’s decisions and gained people’s consent before they provided personal care.
People told us staff were kind and caring and had the right skills to provide the care and support they required. Care plans contained relevant information for staff to help them provide the care people required. Staff treated people in a way that respected their dignity and promoted their independence.
People were involved in planning how they were cared for and supported. Care was planned to meet people’s individual needs and preferences and care plans were regularly reviewed. People knew how to complain and had the opportunity to share their views and opinions about the service they received. People led fulfilling lives because they were engaged in activities that were meaningful to them.
People were satisfied with the service and felt able to contact the office and speak with senior managers if they needed to. Staff felt well supported and felt able to raise any concerns. Staff were encouraged to share ideas to make improvements to the service. There were processes to ensure good standards of care were maintained.