High Wycombe Supported Living provides a service to 46 people, mainly younger adults with learning disabilities, across five sites in the High Wycombe area. People are supported in individual flats and shared houses which are owned by a housing association. 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.

We last inspected this service in December 2014 and rated the service ‘good.’ At this inspection we found the service remained ‘good’.

Why the service is rated ‘good':

High Wycombe Supported Living provides a person-centred service where people are encouraged to be as independent as they can be. We saw people accessed the community; many were involved in voluntary work, work experience or day service opportunities. People went away on holidays of their choice, both in this country and abroad. The properties with individual flats had a shared lounge on the ground floor. This was used by people as they wished and for occasional group activities, to help prevent social isolation.

People were kept safe. They told us they would speak with staff if they had any concerns. Many people named their keyworker or the registered manager as the person they would turn to if they were unhappy. People told us they felt confident these staff would listen to them and put things right.

People received effective care. This included support to attend healthcare appointments and to eat a healthy diet. Staff were supported through regular supervision from their line managers. They received training to meet people’s needs and had been recruited using robust processes.

Each person’s needs had been recorded in a care plan. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff were caring and kind towards people. One person told us “Staff are marvellous, they’re friendly…they’ve all helped me to be where I am now.” Another person told us “Staff are very good. I always find (name of staff) a good laugh.”

There were clear visions and values for the service. The service had a registered manager in place. The provider monitored the quality of care to make sure it met people’s needs. Staff understood their responsibilities and knew how to raise any concerns.

This inspection took place on 16 and 18 December 2014. It was an announced visit to the service.

High Wycombe Supported Living is a newly-registered service and combines two of the provider’s former services, Cressex Supported Living and Desborough Supported Living. It provides support to 44 adults with learning disabilities across five sites. The service had a registered manager in post. 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.

We received positive feedback about the service. Comments from people included “I know when staff are coming to support me and they always come, “Staff are tremendous” and “I like (name of manager), she’s nice.” A social care professional said the service was very client-focussed and the registered manager was very committed to change and improvement. Relatives were happy with standards of care and complimentary of how the service is managed. Comments included “The manager is absolutely excellent, first class” and “(Name of manager) is so amazing and enthusiastic.”

There were safeguarding procedures and training on abuse to provide staff with the skills and knowledge to recognise and respond to safeguarding concerns. Risk was managed well at the service so that people could be as independent as possible. Written risk assessments had been prepared to reduce the likelihood of injury or harm to people during the provision of their care. People’s medicines were handled safely and given to them in accordance with their prescriptions.

We found there were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs. They were recruited using robust procedures to make sure people were supported by staff with the right skills and attributes. Staff received appropriate support through a structured induction, regular supervision and an annual appraisal of their performance. There was an on-going training programme to provide and update staff on safe ways of working.

Care plans had been written, to document people’s needs and their preferences for how they wished to be supported. These had been kept up to date to reflect changes in people’s needs. The service listened to people’s views, such as when recruiting staff. People were supported to take part in a wide range of social activities, access the local community and have holidays. Staff supported people to attend healthcare appointments to keep healthy and well.

There had not been any complaints about the service. People knew how to raise any concerns and were relaxed when speaking with staff and the registered manager.

The service was managed well. The provider regularly checked quality of care at the service through visits and audits. These showed the service was performing well. The registered manager was skilled and experienced and was assisted by a team of senior staff. There were clear visions and values for how the service should operate and staff promoted these. For example, people told us they were treated with dignity and respect and we saw they were given choices. Records were maintained to a good standard and staff had access to policies and procedures to guide their practice.