Newfield View Supported Living is registered to provide personal care to adults who need support to maintain independence. People supported are tenants of seven properties in the Gleadless area of Sheffield. Each property is a two or three bedroom house, in character with other properties in the area. The services main office is located alongside one of the properties. Two people supported live in their own homes in other areas of Sheffield.

At the time of this inspection Newfield View Supported Living was supporting 21 people within the provision of the regulated activity ‘personal care’.

There was a manager at the service who was registered with CQC. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager was also the registered provider for this service.

This inspection took place on 10 October 2016 and short notice was given. We told the registered manager two days before our visit that we would be coming. We did this because the registered manager is sometimes out of the office and we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be available. We also wanted to make sure we would be able to meet with some people supported by the service and some staff.

People who used the service told us they were “Happy” or “Very Happy” with the support provided. They told us they liked their support workers and the registered manager.

There were systems in place to ensure risks to people’s safety and wellbeing were identified

and addressed. The registered provider and staff team were well aware of their responsibility to protect people’s health and wellbeing.

A full and thorough recruitment process was followed which helped to ensure staff employed at the service were of good character and able to carry out their role to the required standard.

There were sufficient numbers of support workers available to keep people safe. Staffing levels were determined by the number of people who used the service and their individual needs.

Systems were in place to support people with their medicines safely.

People who used the service told us support workers were “Good” and gave them the support they needed. Comments included, “They [support workers] are great. They know all about me” and “They [support workers] are my friends.”

We found staff were provided with relevant training, supervision and appraisal for development and support.

Staff told us they were very well supported by the registered manager who was always available to talk to if they needed advice or information. Staff told us communication was good and they worked well together. All of the staff spoken with showed a sense of pride at working at this service.

The service followed the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) Code of practice and the principles of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). This helped to protect the rights of people who may not be able to make important decisions themselves.

People’s care and support was provided in a person centred way. Information about how people preferred their support to be delivered was kept under review and up to date.

People who used the service felt able to express their opinions and views. People told us their views were listened to and where necessary action was taken to improve their experience of the service.

We found the service had a robust process in place to enable them to respond to people and their concerns, investigate them and had taken action to address their concerns.

There were effective systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided. Regular checks and audits were undertaken to make sure full and safe procedures were adhered to.

People supported by Newfield View Supported Living told us that they were happy and that they had the support they needed. They told us, "It's good here. Better than where I was before. I get good support and all the staff are nice," "I am alright. I do the things I want and staff help me sometimes" and "I feel safe here. The staff know me well and support me in the way I want."

We found that before people received any care and support they were asked for their opinion and agreement to ensure that staff acted in accordance with their wishes.

We found that people's care and support needs were assessed and each person had a written support plan that set out their identified needs and the actions required of staff to meet these.

We found that medicines were being handled and stored safely.

The provider had a satisfactory recruitment and selection procedure in place to ensure that staff were appropriately employed.

The provider had an effective complaints system available.

We spoke with six people who were supported by Newfield View Supported Living. They told us that they liked living at their home, staff were always available and they gave them the help that they needed. Their comments included; “It is good here. I can choose what to do. I have my own life and staff just give me the bit of help I need.” “The staff are always respectful. I need some help sometimes and the staff know what help I need.” “We share all the jobs between the people that live here. Staff are around if we need help.” People told us that they had no worries or concerns. They said that staff knew them well and helped them maintain independence. People spoken with said that they could talk to staff if they had any worries, and that they were happy living at their home.