Cumberland Complex provides a supported living service to people with a learning disability or mental health needs. A supported living service is 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 prompting and support with medicines to 10 people.

Personal care was provided by an external domiciliary care agency who visited people in their own home, within the property on Braddons Hill Road East. We visited the supported living setting; people had their own rooms and shared other parts of the house including the lounge, kitchen, and dining room.

This announced inspection took place on 18 July 2017. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and people are often out during the day; we needed to be sure that someone would be in. One social care inspector carried out this inspection

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good overall. At this inspection, we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated good:

People received a service that was safe. People were protected from the risks associated with unsafe medicine administration because medicines were managed safely. The registered manager and staff understood their role and responsibilities to keep people safe from harm. Risks had been appropriately assessed and staff had been provided with clear guidance on the management of identified risks. There was enough staff to safely provide care and support to people.

The service was effective in meeting people's needs. People received effective care and support from staff that were well trained and competent. People’s health and wellbeing was promoted and people were supported to eat a balanced healthy diet. The registered manager, provider, and staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and, worked to ensure people's rights were respected.

People received a service that was caring. People were cared for and supported by staff who knew them well. Staff were kind, caring and treated people with dignity and respect. People were involved in the planning of their care and were offered choices in how they wished their needs to be met.

The service was responsive to people's needs. People were aware of how to make a complaint and felt able to raise concerns if something was not right. People received person centred care and support which promoted their health and wellbeing and enhanced their quality of life.

People benefitted from a service that was well led. The manager and provider were open and approachable. The vision and values of the service were clearly communicated to and understood by staff.

There was an open culture where people and staff were encouraged to provide feedback. Staff felt they received a good level of support and a comprehensive quality assurance system was in place.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

Cumberland Complex provides a supported living service to people with a learning disability or mental health needs. A supported living service is 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 prompting and support to 15 people. Personal care was provided by external domiciliary care agencies who visited people in their own home, within the property on Braddons Hill Road East. We visited the supported living setting. People had their own rooms and shared other parts of the house including the lounge, kitchen, and dining room.

We carried out this unannounced inspection on 18 March 2015. The last inspection took place in November 2012 during which we found there were no breaches in the regulations.

There was 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.

People were happy and relaxed on the day of our inspection visit. People felt safe and comfortable in their homes. People said “I’m happy living at Cumberland” and “It’s a lovely place”. Staff treated people with respect and kindness. People responded to this by smiling and engaging with staff in a friendly way.

People received support from skilled, trained, and experienced staff who knew them well. One person told us “They’re good as gold”. A visiting healthcare professional confirmed staff knew how to meet people’s needs and wanted the best for people. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs, enabling people to go out when they wanted to.

People were enabled through positive risk taking to progress, gain new skills, and increase their independence. People were encouraged to make their own healthcare appointments. Staff were available to support people to access appointments where required.

People were active members of their local community and took part in a range of activities. Staff supported people to achieve their ambitions.

People were involved in planning their support. Staff had an awareness of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). The MCA provides the legal framework to assess people’s capacity to make certain decisions, at a certain time. When people are assessed as not having the capacity to make a decision, a best interest decision is made involving people who know the person well and other professionals, where relevant. The registered manager told us if people had been assessed to lack capacity, decisions would be made in the person’s best interest and take into account the person’s likes and dislikes. Some people had a Court of Protection order in relation to their finances. The Court of Protection had appointed a person to make best interest decisions about people’s finances.

The service had an open culture, a clear vision and values, which were put into practice. People knew the registered manager well and found them to be approachable.

Staff felt well supported by the registered manager and staff team to fulfil their role. The registered manager worked alongside the staff in the home. Comments included “The management are brilliant, you could not ask for better” and “It’s an open door environment, you feel free to talk”. A visiting healthcare professional commented that the service was well-run.

The provider had systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of care and support provided. The service encouraged feedback and used this to drive improvements.

People using this service needed minimal support to meet their physical and mental health needs. They told us that staff were “great” and described them as “friendly” and “helpful”. People said they felt safe, respected and well supported.

We saw that people had support plans which easy person had been involved in creating and which they had signed up to. Records showed the plans were reviewed frequently, and with each person’s health or social care worker. People were encouraged to be independent and to maintain or develop life skills, in accordance with their support plans and with the aims and objectives of the service. This included receiving minimal help with their medicines, which were managed safely.

Staff received training and support which equipped them to carry out their role and meet people’s needs. They were provided with procedural guidance which was easy to locate.

All records were up to date and kept securely.