This inspection took place on the 26 May and 6 June 2017. Patrick Court provides supported living to people in their own homes across two sites in Northamptonshire. At the time of our inspection there were 13 people receiving care.

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.

The registered manager and senior management team at Patrick Court were visible, approachable and acted as a role model for staff within the service. There was a clearly articulated person centred culture. Staff were encouraged and enabled to work creatively which achieved consistently outstanding outcomes for the people receiving care and support. There was a strong system of quality assurance led by the provider and registered manager that ensured people consistently received exceptional care and support.

The people receiving care from Patrick Court had an enhanced sense of well-being and quality of life because staff worked innovatively to enable people to have meaningful experiences and to become active members of the local community.

Staff were empowered to work creatively and to develop positive therapeutic relationships with people. Staff were proud of the support that they provided to people and the positive outcomes that they had observed. People had been supported to make their accommodation a home that they were comfortable living in.

Staff knew their responsibilities as defined by the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA 2005) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and had applied that knowledge appropriately. People were supported to make decisions for themselves and their consent in relation to their care was actively sought by staff. People were supported to use communication aids and information was provided to people in an accessible format to enable them to make decisions about their care and support.

The people supported by Patrick Court had complex needs and people who demonstrated behaviour that may challenge services received care that was based upon best practice guidelines that met their individual needs and successfully reduced instances of incidents within the home.

People were at the heart of the service and staff were committed to enabling people to live full, varied and fulfilled lives. People were supported in creative way to continue to achieve their aspirations and continued to have new experiences. Staff were motivated to find innovative ways to remove barriers for people to achieve have meaningful access in the community.

Staff demonstrated the provider’s values of offering person centred care that respected people as individuals in all of their interactions with people. People, their relatives and the professionals involved in people’s care consistently told us that the service consistently achieved exceptional outcomes for people.

People could be assured that they would be supported by sufficient numbers of staff. A number of people within the home received care from staff on a one to one basis and records showed that people received the this care in the way they needed to maintain their safety.

People’s health and well-being was monitored by staff and they were supported to access health professionals in a timely manner when they needed to. People were supported to have sufficient amounts to eat and drink to maintain a balanced diet.

Staff understood the importance of obtaining people’s consent when supporting them with their daily living needs. People experienced caring relationships with staff and good interaction was evident.