Creative Support (Camden & Barnet Learning Disability Services) provides supported living to 53 people at eleven sites including floating support to a small number of people in their own homes.

This inspection was short notice, which meant the provider and staff did not know we were coming until shortly before we visited the service. At the last inspection on 12 and 26 May 2015 the provider met all of the requirements we looked at and was rated good..

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

There was a registered manager in place at the time of the inspection. 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 were kept safe from harm and staff knew what to do in order to maintain their safety. Risks to people were assessed and action was taken to minimise potential risks. Medicines were safely managed. The provider operated thorough staff recruitment procedures to ensure they were safe to work with the people.

People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and support workers supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service also support this practice.

Support workers were trained and had completed an induction programme before starting their employment at the service. They were also supported through supervision and had their performance and development needs reviewed.

Support workers ensured that on-going healthcare support from local GPs and other healthcare professionals was made available and supported people to remain healthy.

People’s dignity and privacy was maintained and staff knew how people preferred to be supported. Support workers liaised with people’s families as necessary. People’s independence was promoted and support workers encouraged them to do as much for themselves as possible. People were given information on how to make a complaint and supported people to access advocacy services when needed.

The registered manager carried out regular audits of the service and used these as a means of maintaining high quality care. Any action that was required was taken and the service provider was open and transparent in the way that they communicated with people.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

Creative Support (Camden & Barnet Learning Disability Services) provides supported living to approximately 50 people at eleven sites including floating support to a small number of people in their own homes.

This inspection was short notice which meant the provider and staff did not know we were coming until shortly before we visited the service. At the last inspection on 4 February 2014 the provider met all of the requirements we looked at.

At the time of our inspection the provider employed a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider.

From the discussions we had with people using the service, relatives and other stakeholders we found that people were usually highly satisfied with the way the service worked with people. There was confidence about contacting staff at the service to discuss anything they wished to and carers were thought to be knowledgeable and skilled. People felt that there was honesty in the way the service communicated with them.

People’s human rights were protected and the service was diligent with ensuring that the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) were complied with. Where Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) were applicable we found that this too was managed properly.

People who used the service had a variety of support needs, in some cases highly complex needs, and from the six care plans we looked at we found that the information and guidance provided to staff was clear. Any risks associated with people’s care needs were assessed, and the action needed to mitigate against risks was recorded. We found that risk assessments were updated regularly.

During our review of care plans we found that these were tailored to people’s unique and individual needs. Communication, methods of providing care and support with the appropriate guidance for each person’s needs were in place and regularly reviewed.

We looked at the training records of staff at three shared living projects. We saw that in all cases mandatory training had been undertaken and the type of specialised training they required was tailored to the needs of the people they were supporting. We found that staff appraisals were happening yearly and staff had development objectives were set arising from the appraisal system.

We found that staff respected people’s privacy and dignity and worked in ways that demonstrated this. From the conversations we had with people, our observations and records we looked at, we found that people’s preferences had been recorded and that staff worked well to ensure these preferences were respected.

Records which we viewed showed that people were able to complain and felt confident to do so if needed. People could therefore feel confident that any concerns they had would be listened to.

People who used the service, relatives and stakeholders had a range of opportunities to provide their views about the quality of the service. We found that the provider took this process seriously and worked hard to ensure that people were included and listened to.