Crewe & Nantwich Supported Living Network

The service had moved address in July 2016 and registered as a new location with us. This was their first inspection under their new registration.

Crewe and Nantwich Supported Living Network is a service provided by Cheshire East Council. It is registered to provide personal care. It is a domiciliary care and supported living service to adults with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder who live in their own homes. People either own their own homes or live in properties where they have a separate tenancy agreement with a social landlord. The amount of support people receive varies from one call per day to 24 hour support. At the time of our inspection there were 29 people being supported.

A registered manager was in post and was present during our 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.

Staff had received training in and understood how to protect people from any harm and abuse. Systems were in place for staff to follow which protected people and kept them safe. Staff knew how to and were confident in reporting any concerns they may have about a person's safety.

Risk assessments reflected how care should be provided to the person to minimise any risks to them; they were regularly reviewed to adapt the level of support needed in response to people's often rapidly changing needs. People were supported to take their medicines safely and when they needed them.

People were happy they were supported by sufficient numbers of staff to safely meet their needs. Checks were completed on potential new staff to make sure they were suitable to work with people in their own home.

Staff had the skills and knowledge to understand and support people's needs. Staff were supported in their roles by managers and their colleagues.

Staff asked people's permission before they helped them with any care or support. People's right to make their own decisions about their own care and treatment were supported by staff. Where people were unable to make their own decisions these were made in their best interests by people who knew them and other relevant professionals.

Staff supported people to maintain a healthy balanced diet and supported them to make their own choices about what they wanted to eat and drink. People's health needs were met and they were supported to make

and attend health appointments.

People were supported by staff who knew them well and had good relationships with them. Staff regularly spoke with people about their care to ensure the support plans in place met their current needs.

People were encouraged to express their views, preferences and wishes in regard to their care, support and treatment. People were supported by staff in a dignified and respectful manner, with a focus on how they could maintain their optimum level of independence.

People were happy with the care and support they received and gave positive comments about the staff and management at the service. People were able to give their opinions of the care they received at meetings and direct to staff.

The service had a positive culture where staff worked for the benefit of the people they supported. The provider had systems in place which assessed and monitored the quality of care and support staff provided. The quality of the service provision was kept under review and although we found some issues these were actioned quickly. Staff were happy in their work and felt supported by management and involved in the development of the service.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found