Vincent Place

Updated 2 December 2021

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 consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in a ‘supported living’ setting, 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 did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that 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 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with one person who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the manager, deputy manager, team leader and care workers.

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

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We spoke with one professional who regularly visit the service.

Updated 2 December 2021

About the service

Vincent Place provides personal care to three people with a learning 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.

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

The provider and manager had a governance system in place, which included various audits and monitoring, however, actions were not always documented, and it was unclear if actions were completed.

People had risk assessments in place, however these did not always give clear details about how to manage a risk and needed further development. People received their medicines when they needed them, however medicine records did not always reflect an accurate description of when medicines should be given. Staff received training to help ensure they were sufficiently skilled.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The service was not able to demonstrate how they were meeting some of the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. Staff were led by what people wanted to do and encouraged people to make informed decisions, however, staff did not feel there had been a consistent leadership which caused the staff team to feel unsettled and not always listened. Staff felt this had started to improve and felt comfortable to speak to the manager. The manager did not have knowledge of the right support, right care, right culture guidance which meant staff were not knowledgeable in particular how to communicate in a respectful way.

People and relatives felt staff provided care that was safe, and systems were in place to report concerns. The staff team had been safely recruited. Systems were in place to report and respond to accidents and incidents.

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.

Due to management changes staff morale had been affected, however staff felt more supported by the manager. The manager had a good understanding of their responsibilities towards the people they supported and had passion in delivering person-centred care.

The manager had built positive relationships with professionals and was dedicated in making sure people got input from health professionals when needed. Professionals commented on the managers support and openness which had benefited the people they supported.

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 was registered with us on 03 July 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration.

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.