The inspection of FitzRoy Supported Living - Uckfield took place on 19 and 20 October 2016 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice because the location provides personal care to people living in their own home and we needed to be sure that someone would be available for the inspection. We also wanted the registered manager to ask people who used the service if we could visit them in their home. At our last inspection on 5 February 2014 the service was meeting all of the regulations that we assessed.

FitzRoy Supported Living – Uckfield provides ‘supported living’ accommodation for people with learning disabilities in four flats and two bungalows to live independently in their own rented properties.

The service provides personal care seven days a week on a 24 hour basis to six adults with learning disabilities, mental health issues, physical disabilities and associated issues. Support is provided to people living in their own homes with tenancy agreements provided by Town and Country Housing Association. At the time of our inspection there were five people living at the service.

People had a choice about who provided the care in their homes. Two people in two of the other bungalows on the site no longer use the service as they chose to have support from a different provider. The service worked with them and social workers to select an appropriate alternative.

Staff promoted people’s independence by giving them choices and encouraging them to do as much as they could manage for themselves. People had sufficient opportunities to take part in person centred activities.

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 told us they felt safe receiving the care and support provided by the service. Staff understood and could recognise the signs of potential abuse and knew what to do if they needed to raise a safeguarding concern. Training schedules confirmed staff had received training in safeguarding adults at risk.

Robust recruitment and selection procedures were in place and appropriate checks had been made before staff began work at the service. People took an active role in the recruitment of potential new staff. There were sufficient levels of staff to protect people’s health, safety and welfare consistently and reliably.

People said staff were caring and kind and their individual needs were met. One person told us, “I love all the staff here.” Another person said, “All of the carers look after me. They are very good.” Staff knew people well and had a good understanding of their needs and choices.

People were supported by staff to write their own shopping lists and to shop for and prepare the food they chose. They were also supported to access a range of healthcare professionals in order to maintain holistic health.

Large print and easy read care plans and risk assessments reflected people’s assessed level of care needs and enabled people’s involvement in planning their care. People were encouraged to be as independent as possible. One person told us, “I do as I want here.”

Staff felt supported by management, said they were well trained and understood what was expected of them. Staff were encouraged to provide feedback and report concerns to improve the service. A member of staff told us, “The management support me and listen to me.”

There was a comments and complaints policy and information regarding the complaints procedure was available. Complaints were listened to and investigated in a timely manner and used to improve the service.

Regular audits were in place to measure and monitor the quality of care and service provided.

People and staff surveys were positive about

We met with four people who lived in shared flats at Vernon Close and have their personal care delivered by Fitzroy Supported Living. All of the service users have short hold tenancy agreements and live as independently as possible with funded support. People were able to make choices and decisions that affected their lives; one person said about the staff, “They understand me very well”.

We were invited to meet with people in their flats and permission was obtained from them first to check whether it was all right for us to do this. We saw that people had a plan of weekly activities and that they all went weekly food shopping. This enabled them to plan what they wanted to eat for the week ahead, make choices and take control of their lives. One person told us that they did not like sharing freezers, “because I want to be independent in the kitchen”.

Care plans showed that comprehensive risk assessments were in place. People had their own link worker who met with them monthly to talk about any concerns or issues they might have and which might mean a change to the way their personal care was delivered. One person told us that she liked living here and that staff were, “very good. I have favourite people.”

People’s medication was kept in secure metal cabinets in their own bedrooms and records relating to the administration and storage of medicines showed that medication was kept safely and handled appropriately.

Staff were recruited following a set procedure and they were all vetted with regard to criminal records. People using the service were also involved in the interviewing process for new staff and no-one was recruited without their agreement. Staff received training and appropriate professional development. We found there were monthly team meetings, with support and development sessions.

People who use the service told us that they are happy with the support provided and feel safe. One person told us "I really like it here." They identified by name staff who are "good to talk to." One person told us that they enjoyed a range of activities supported by staff including membership of regional and national service planning and development groups. Another told us that the support offered helped them feel enabled and in control of day to day decisions including leisure and recreational activities.

People identified members of staff and they would talk to if they felt worried or had a problem. One person told us that they would talk to their key worker or the manager.

Staff we spoke to told us they enjoy working at the project. One personl told us "its really lovely". Another cited good staffing levels and training opportunities as positive features of their employment.

We saw evidence of safe, respectful and enabling practice by observation, records review and in discussions with individuals who use the service and a visiting healthcare professional.