7 Beresford Buildings

Updated 19 August 2022

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 carried out by one inspector and a Pharmacist Specialist.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in a number of ‘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 a manager 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 the service 24 hours’ 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 20 May 2022 and ended on 16 June 2022. We visited the office location on 20 May 2022 and 9 June 2022.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since it had moved to the new address. We sought feedback from Healthwatch, the local authority and professionals who work with the service. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. 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

We spoke with one person who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spent time observing one person to understand their experience of care. We spoke with 12 members of staff including the registered manager, director of operations, PBS assistant, two care co-ordinators, two team leaders, four support workers and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We received written feedback from a further five support workers, one team leader and one care co-ordinator. We received additional feedback from two social care professionals who work closely with the service. We spoke with one volunteer and one development manager from a charity that the service is working with.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and medication records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 19 August 2022

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.

About the service

7 Beresford Buildings is a supported living service providing personal care to adults with learning disabilities, autism and mental health needs. People lived in their own accommodation. Some accommodation had a room for staff to use if people required 24-hour support. At the time of our inspection the service supported four people with personal care living in their own homes.

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

Right Support

¿ Staff were exceptional in their ability to support people to have the maximum possible choice, independence and control over their own lives. Staff used a variety of communication methods to suit each individual person, to maximise people’s understanding and decision-making abilities. People were empowered and supported to play an active role in maintaining their own health and wellbeing.

¿ Staff were passionately committed to delivering care in line with best practice guidance, and in finding the right approach for each individual person supported. Staff used creative ways which supported the delivery of high quality care and achieved excellent outcomes for people.

¿ Staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life. People’s plans were developed using facts and information relevant to the person, to ensure that support provided was exceptionally effective for each individual.

¿ People were supported to pursue their interests and to achieve their aspirations and goals. Staff knew and understood people well and were responsive, supporting their aspirations to live a quality life of their choosing.

¿ The service specialised in Positive Behaviour Support (PBS). PBS is a person-centred framework for providing support to people with a learning disability, and/or autism, including those with mental health conditions, who have, or may be at risk of developing, behaviours that challenge. This framework had resulted in really positive outcomes for people.

Right Care

¿ People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff went the extra mile to understand and respond to people’s individual needs which resulted in excellent outcomes.

¿ Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. 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. Staff received excellent training which was designed around the person being supported. People received exemplary care, support and treatment because trained staff and specialists could meet their needs and wishes.

¿ People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and had an excellent understanding of their communication needs.

¿ People received care that supported their needs and aspirations, was focused on people having an excellent quality of life, and which suited each individual person.

Right culture

¿ People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the exceptional ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff. Staff and people were involved and contributed to the missions and aims of the service.

¿ People were supported by staff who understood best practice in relation to the wide range of strengths, impairments or sensitivities people with a learning disability and/or autistic people may have. This meant people received compassionate care that was tailored to their needs.

¿ Staff placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. They were motivated and proud of the service and the positive difference they were making in people’s lives.

¿ The provider went out of their way to seek and obtain good quality feedback. This allowed them to evaluate the quality of support provided, involving the person, their families and other professionals as appropriate. Staff were continuously seeking to improve and enhance people’s quality of life.

¿ The service enabled people and those important to them to work with staff to develop the service. Staff valued and acted upon people’s views.

¿ People’s quality of life was enhanced by the service’s culture of improvement and inclusivity.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service has moved address. The last rating for the service at the previous premises was good (published on 31 January 2019).

This service was registered with us at the current address on 2 August 2019 and this is the first inspection at the current premises.

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of right support right care right culture. This was a planned inspection to assess the standard of care delivered by the service and award a 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.