Precious Homes Torquay provides support to people with learning disabilities. The support is provided to people who live as tenants in flats in one building called Lucentio House, under a Supported Living scheme. A supported living scheme is one where people live in their own home and receive care and support in order to promote their independence. At the time of our inspection the service provided support to 10 people living in their own homes.

This inspection took place on 30 November and 1 December 2016. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice that the inspection would be taking place. This was because the location provides a supported living service to people who are often out during the day; we needed to be sure that someone would be in.

The service was last inspected on 03 December 2013, when it met the regulations relevant at that time.

A registered manager was employed 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.

Kind and caring staff ensured people received support that was responsive to their needs and as set out on their support plans. Staff ensured people’s privacy and dignity was respected. Staff knew the people they supported well and ensured their preferences were met. Some people had paid work they attended regularly. Other people spent their time on preferred activities such as shopping and walking. People were supported to attend a variety of events outside of their homes. People attended paid employment as well as social activities such as the cinema, karaoke and discos.

Relatives were complimentary about the support provided by the registered manager and staff. One relative told us the registered manager was “Excellent”. They went onto say that all the staff were excellent and “They are a team.”

People’s support plans described how staff were to support people. They gave staff directions on how to manage any behaviours that may place the person or others at risk. Any risks to people were identified and plans put in place to minimise the risks. For example, one person was identified as being at risk of misusing medicines. Plans were in place to ensure their medicines were managed safely.

People were supported to make choices in all aspects of their lives. One person told us how they had been supported to obtain paid employment. People and their relatives were involved in making decisions about the support provided by staff. One relative told us they were always invited to discuss their relations support plan and said they were always told of any changes to their relative’s needs. They said they had been invited by staff to go shopping with their relation. One relative told us they were going to be picked up by staff and taken out to help their relative choose new items, then go for something to eat.

People were supported to maintain a healthy balanced diet. They were supported to plan, shop for and prepare their meals. Staff ensured people’s health care needs were addressed. People were supported to attend healthcare appointments when necessary. One relative told us their relation was now attending dental appointments. People were supported to take their medicines at the times they were prescribed.

Following the inspection we received emails from two social and healthcare professionals who told us how well people were supported by staff. One social care professional wrote in an email they found the service to “provide correct care, support residents, allow them choice and advocate when appropriate.”

People were protected from the risks of abuse. Staff knew how to recognise and report abuse both within the service and to outside agencies. Thorough recruitment procedures ensured the risks of emplo

There were five people who used the service on the day of our visit. We spoke with two people and saw two support plans. There were a total of five members of staff available at the time of our visit including the manager; we spoke with two of them. People we spoke with said “I’m very happy with the service” and “we have a laugh and a joke”. Staff we spoke with said “people tell us what they need, we support and encourage them”.

We saw two support plans and there was evidence that people's right to consent was recognised. One person we spoke with said “I’ve seen my care plan, I know what’s in it and I’ve signed it”.

People we spoke with described the activities they enjoyed participating in; these included bingo, football, ‘waterobics’ and walking. One person said they were “looking forward to going home” and another person said they had “got a disco tomorrow”. Some of the people had been supported to obtain employment. People we spoke with said that staff listened to them; one person said this was via surveys and meetings.

Everyone we spoke with who used the service said there was always a member of staff available and they knew the staff by name. People, who used the service, appeared to have a good rapport with staff who understood their care and support needs. We observed positive interactions between staff and people who used the service and people we spoke with said staff were “good, excellent” and “alright, good, nice and friendly”.