Brunswick Supported living Services is registered to provide domiciliary care and a supported living service. Brunswick Supported Living Services provide supported living services including personal care and support to people with a learning disability, autistic spectrum disorder or a mental health condition. 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.

At our last inspection in June 2015 two breaches of regulation were found in relation to medicines management and good governance and the service was rated as ‘requires improvement'.

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.

There was good overall feedback about the service, from people using it and their relatives. We found people were treated with kindness and compassion, and that they were given emotional support when needed. The service ensured people's privacy and dignity was respected and promoted.

People’s needs were identified and responded to well. The service was effective at working in co-operation with other organisations to deliver good care and support. This included where people’s needs had changed, and where people needed on going healthcare support.

The support staff we spoke with demonstrated a good knowledge of people’s care needs, significant people and events in their lives, and their daily routines and preferences. They also understood the provider’s safeguarding procedures and could explain how they would protect people if they had any concerns.

Staff told us they really enjoyed working in the service and spoke positively about the culture and management of the service. Staff told us that they were encouraged to openly discuss any issues. Staff said they enjoyed their jobs and described management as supportive. Staff confirmed they were able to raise issues and make suggestions about the way the service was provided.

Medicines management had been improved The provider had updated systems for recording and storing of medicines and regular weekly audits were taking place.

People were able to make choices about the way in which they were cared for. Staff listened to them and knew their needs well. Staff had the training and support they needed.

Staffing levels were sufficient to meet people’s needs. Recruitment practices were safe and relevant checks had been completed before staff worked at the service.

People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice

People participated in a range of social activities and were supported to access the local community.

The registered manager and staff ensured everyone was supported to maintain good health.

Staff were well supported with training and supervision which helped them to ensure they provided effective care for people.

People and those important to them, such as their relatives or professionals were asked for feedback about the quality of the service.

The registered manager and staff knew what they should do if anyone made a complaint.

Person centred care was fundamental to the service and staff made sure people were at the centre of their practice. Care plans focused on the whole person, and assessments and plans were regularly updated.

The service was well led. There was a clear set of values in place which all of the staff put into practice. The management team had developed robust quality assurance checks, to make sure standards of care were maintained. Th

This was an announced inspection which took place on 9 and 17 June 2016. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice of our intended inspection to ensure the registered manager was available in the office to meet us. This service has not been inspected since its registration on 16 October 2013.

Brunswick Supported living Services is registered to provide domiciliary care and a supported living service. At the time of the inspection, the service had 12 people using the service. The service was providing a 24 hours supported living service to two people in their privately rented flats and 10 people on floating and outreach support. Brunswick Supported living Services provided supported living services including personal care and support to people with a learning disability, autistic spectrum disorder or a mental health condition. A supported living service is one where people receive care and support to enable people to live independently.

The service had a registered manager who had been registered with the Care Quality Commission since 8 April 2016. 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 using the service and their relatives told us they found staff caring, helpful and friendly. People using the service told us staff were attentive to their health and care needs and listened to them. Staff were able to demonstrate their understanding of the needs and preferences of the people they cared, for example we could see staff provided care that maintained people’s privacy and dignity.

The service supported people to learn independent living skills by assisting them in areas such as shopping and cooking. The service worked with a specialist advisor to engage with people in identifying their likes, dislikes, wishes and preferences, and to produce their person-centred plans.

We checked medicines administration charts and found gaps in the records that were being kept of medicines administered by staff. Care plans and risk assessments supported the safe handling of people's medicines. Care plans had information on people’s individual needs and likes and dislikes recorded, but lacked people’s personal histories. Risk assessments were detailed and individualised. However, there were several gaps in the care records.

There were safeguarding policies and procedures in place. Staff were able to demonstrate their role in making safeguarding alerts and raising concerns.

Staff told us they were supported well and we evidenced records of staff supervision. Staff told us they attended induction training and received additional training and training records evidenced this.

Staff files had records of application forms, interview assessment notes, criminal record checks and reference checks.

The service operated within the legal framework of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

The service lacked effective systems and process to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of service provided.

We found that the registered provider was not meeting legal requirements and there were a number of breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 in relation to medicines, care records and quality and assurance processes.

You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.