About the service: Birmingham Supported Living & Community Based Services provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of inspection 11 people were receiving support with personal care eight of whom were living in supported living houses. Support co-ordinators managed the everyday running of the supported living houses and the registered manager had oversight of the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

People we spoke with told us they liked the staff and that they felt comfortable in their home. This was supported in observations during the inspection.

Systems were in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service. Any issues identified were addressed to ensure quality of care was maintained.

People’s needs and risks were properly assessed with sufficient guidance for staff to follow in the provision of safe and appropriate support. Staff had person centred information on people’s preferences and choices with regards to their support. The support provided was personalised to them and their individual requirements.

Independence was supported and people were able to voice their opinions with various communication strategies. Consent to care and treatment was sought in line with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Medicines were managed safely and staff completed training and had regular spot checks regarding this. We saw that lessons had been learnt following checks made and this had improved practice.

Support plans documented people's nutritional needs and these were known and met by staff. People told us they always received their choice of food and enjoyed the meals prepared for them.

Staff were recruited safely and received regular training, received supervisions, attended staff meetings and had regular practice checks.

The registered manager and staff worked with other professionals and agencies to help ensure people's needs were met effectively. Advice provided was clearly recorded and followed by staff.

People’s privacy, dignity and independence was promoted. Positive relationships had developed between people receiving support and care staff.

The registered provider had a complaints policy in place. Information about the complaints process was provided to people. Safeguarding and whistleblowing procedures were in place.

More information is in the full report

Rating at last inspection: The previous inspection was carried out 04 August 2016. At the last inspection the service was good. At this inspection, the service was rated good again.

Why we inspected: This was a planned comprehensive inspection as part of CQC’s inspection schedule.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

This inspection took place on 4 August 2016 and was announced. The service was last inspected in January 2014 and was meeting all the regulations in the areas we looked at. Creative Support delivers both a supported living service and domiciliary care service that provides personal care and support to people with a learning disability or a mental health condition who live in their own homes. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting 13 people.

There was a registered manager at the service. 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.

Staff knew how to recognise potential signs of abuse and how to raise concerns should they need to. Risks to people had been assessed and measures had been put in place to reduce the risk to the person. Staff had received training to enable them to provide safe and effective care to meet the needs of the people they were supporting.

Information was available to staff about how to support people with their medicines and all staff had been trained in how to administer medication. Checks had been carried out to ensure people had received their prescribed medicines safely.

We saw that safe recruitment and induction processes were in place to ensure there were enough staff employed who were suitable to support the people who used the service.

The registered manager and staff we spoke with were knowledgeable of, and acted in line with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005). Staff we spoke with told us how they sought consent from people before supporting them. People confirmed this happened. Staff spoke enthusiastically about the people they were supporting and had a good knowledge of the person’s likes and dislikes.

We found that care plans were very comprehensive and were reviewed with people regularly.

We found that people were supported to be as independent as possible. We saw examples of how staff supported people on a daily basis to retain their independence and how they helped people to achieve their aspirations and goals. People we spoke with said that they had control of their own lives.

There was a complaints procedure in place with a comprehensive policy that had been made available to staff and people. Where concerns were raised we saw that the registered manager had acted promptly and taken appropriate action. There were effective systems in place for monitoring the quality and safety of the service.

Staff supported people to maintain a healthy lifestyle where this was part of their support plan. People told us staff supported them with their food shopping and assisted them with the preparation and cooking of their meals. People were supported to access the local community and they told us they were taking part in activities that they enjoyed and wanted to do.

There were 23 people using the service in their own homes from 13 locations when we carried out our inspection. We spoke with three people, four relatives, six members of staff, the manager and the service director.

People made very positive comments. A person who used the service told us, "I like living in my own house. I have lots of friends and I go out all the time with (staff)." A relative said, "Creative Support is absolutely fantastic. X is coming on in leaps and bounds and has just come back from a week in the Lake District."

People received safe and appropriate care because their needs were assessed and reviewed regularly. Detailed support plans were in place to inform staff of people's individual needs and the way they wished to be supported.

People told us in detail about their social and recreational experiences, how they accessed the community and experienced activities of their choice.

People told us that they were able to express their views and were involved in making decisions about their care and support.

We found that suitable arrangements were in place to protect people from abuse. A person told us they felt safe in their home and would tell someone if that changed. Staff were knowledgeable about the procedures for reporting safeguarding concerns.

Staff received training that was appropriate for people's individual needs.

Quality monitoring systems were in place and people's views were used to develop the service and maintain quality.