We carried out a review of the data available to us about Spectrum Care 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 Spectrum Care Services, you can give feedback on this service.
The care service had been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary life as any citizen.
People’s experience of using this service:
People’s care needs were assessed, and they received good quality person-centred care from support workers who understood their needs well.
Support workers promoted people’s choice and independence and ensured they had access to a range of individualised activities.
People were engaged and involved in the day to day running of their home. They were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible.
Support workers were knowledgeable and received training, supervision and support to carry out their roles effectively. Support workers were committed to providing person centred support.
The atmosphere at the supported living houses we visited was relaxed and friendly. People told us that they liked their homes, which were able to meet their needs, for example accessible to wheelchair users.
Support workers used a variety of communication methods to ensure people’s wishes were heard and acted upon.
More information is in the full report.
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating of good at the last inspection undertaken in September 2016.
Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit in accordance with our re-inspection programme.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Spectrum Care Services provides support with personal care to people with learning disabilities in their own homes. People who use the service live in a range of shared houses and flats staffed by unit managers and care workers. This is sometimes called “supported living.”
At the time of our inspection the service had a registered manager. 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 made decisions about what they wanted to do day to day and legal requirements relating to Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) were being met. People told us they felt safe. The staff we spoke with knew what to do if abuse or harm happened or if they witnessed it. Risk assessments were in place for people living in the locations.
We found that medicines were well managed and people’s health was monitored and they attended health care appointments. People’s nutritional needs were met.
Staff received appropriate training or on-going or periodic supervision to make sure competence was maintained and all new staff completed an induction programme. Recruitment practices were safe as background checks were carried out. The service managers, staff and people who used the service told us there were enough staff.
Interactions between staff and people were friendly and knew how to respect people’s privacy and dignity. People’s needs were assessed and care and support was planned and delivered in line with their individual care needs. People engaged in a range of activities, both at home and in the community.
People were supported by members of staff to raise any complaints or concerns if they wished. The registered person had effective systems in place to monitor the overall quality of service delivery and provided support to the service managers at the locations.
The provider provides support in people's homes which they rent from an independent landlord. We visited and spoke with 10 people using the service who had varying difficulties with communication. They told us: "I like it here" and "Staff are my family." We saw that people using the service felt comfortable with the staff and that staff treated them with respect. The provider supported people to be independent and to be involved in the community.
The provider did make most checks on people before they started work, such as criminal record checks and whether people had relevant physical or mental health conditions. We saw that in the past they did not collect or review all of the information required under the regulations, however the provider was in the process of implementing a new system for recruiting staff which included all required checks.