About the service:

London SLS is a division of United Response which provides support and personal care to people with a range of disabilities who live in supported living accommodation. The personal care and/or support people receive is regulated by the Care Quality Commission, but their accommodation is not. The service aims to enable people to be as independent as possible. Properties are located in the London boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea, Islington, Camden, Ealing, Merton and Richmond-upon-Thames. London SLS also provides some outreach support to people who live in their own homes.

People’s experience of using this service:

• At this inspection the service met the characteristics of Good in all areas.

• People received safe care and support. The provider had systems in place to manage safeguarding concerns and staff were appropriately trained in this area.

• People were safe from harm because appropriate risk assessments had been carried out with regard to activities people took part in as well as the safety of the premises.

• Sufficient numbers of staff were employed and worked in the service so that people’s needs were met.

• People were safely supported with their medicines and general health.

• Care staff had received training to enable them to carry out their role effectively.

• Care staff were supported by their management team to do their job.

• People had good relationships with care staff who protected their rights to lead as normal a life as possible. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible.

• The service had policies and management systems which supported and ensured good care practice.

• Relatives told us they felt people were safe and well cared for in their home. Some people were unable to provide detailed verbal feedback but were able to indicate that they felt comfortable and at ease with staff. Other people spoke positively about the service they received.

• We found where people lacked capacity that the appropriate authorisations were in place with regard to lasting power of attorney.

• People accessed health care services when needed and records were maintained in relation to each person’s health, appointment visits and medicines.

• People were supported to take part in activities of interest and their preferences, likes and dislikes were known to staff.

• The provider had a complaints procedure which relatives were aware of, although the service had an open-door policy which welcomed informal discussions and conversations whenever needed.

Rating at last inspection

At our last inspection of 5 December 2016 the service was rated “Good”.

Why we inspected:

• This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

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.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

We carried out an announced inspection of London SLS on 5 December 2016. The inspection was announced to ensure management would be available at the office.

The service had last been inspected in August 2014 when it was located at a different address. We found the service to be compliant with all regulations assessed at that time.

London SLS is a division of United Response which provides support and personal care to people with a range of disabilities who live in supported living accommodation. The personal care and/or support people receive is regulated by the Care Quality Commission but their accommodation is not. The service aims to enable people to be as independent as possible. Properties are located in the London boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea, Islington, Camden, Ealing, Merton and Richmond-upon-Thames. London SLS also provides some outreach support to people who live in their own homes.

At the time of the inspection there was a registered manger in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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 we spoke to told us they felt safe. We saw that the service had appropriate safeguarding policies and procedures in place. Staff were trained in safeguarding vulnerable adults and understood how to identify and report safeguarding or whistleblowing concerns.

The registered manager, service managers and staff we spoke to had knowledge and understanding of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and how this applied to the people they supported. Staff were also knowledgeable of the Court of Protection and its role in legally authorising any deprivations of a person’s liberty.

We saw that staffing levels were sufficient to meet the needs of the people who used the service and staff told us that they felt supported through completion of regular supervisions and monthly team meetings.

Recruitment procedures were in place to ensure staff working for the service met the required standards. This included DBS (Disclosure and Baring Service) checks, reference checking and application and interview process. We saw that all staff completed an induction training programme before working with people who used the service and that on-going training was provided to ensure skills and knowledge were up to date.

We saw that the service had both a policy and systems in place to ensure safe medicines management was maintained.

People we spoke with were able to indicate that they were happy with the care provided by staff, either through direct answers or in other non-verbal ways. Relatives we spoke with were complimentary about the quality and nature of the care provided by the staff. Staff and management were described as being kind, knowledgeable, respectful and mindful of people’s dignity.

We looked at three care plans which contained detailed and personalised information about the people who used the service. The care plans also contained individual risk assessments, which helped to ensure their safety was maintained