CQC upgrades Teesside supported living service to outstanding

A supported living service in Teesside has been upgraded from good to outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Creative Support – Teesside Services, operated by Creative Support Limited, provides personal care to people with a learning disability, autistic people and people with physical disabilities.

CQC inspected the service during March and April as part of its ongoing monitoring of the safety and quality of adult social care services.

Following the inspection, all five areas assessed by the regulator – safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led – have improved from good to outstanding.

Inspectors found that people were placed at the centre of decisions about their care and that staff had developed strong relationships with those they supported.

Before people moved into a new home, staff spent time getting to know them and understanding how they preferred to be supported. CQC found this helped people experience smoother transitions and enabled staff to provide appropriate support from the beginning.

The service was also praised for helping people become more independent and experience new activities while ensuring potential risks were appropriately managed.

In one example, staff carefully planned a train journey to Newcastle for a person they supported. Risks were assessed in advance and the individual remained settled during the journey. The experience increased their confidence in travelling and encouraged them to consider bigger goals, including going on holiday.

Inspectors also highlighted how staff responded when they noticed a person with swallowing difficulties coughing during meals. Staff sought support from speech and language therapy services to identify the cause and help reduce future risks.

Staffing was another area recognised by CQC. Inspectors found there were sufficient numbers of skilled and experienced employees who were well supported and worked together to provide care based around people’s individual needs.

Communication was adapted according to each person’s needs, with inspectors finding that staff knew the people they supported well and communicated with them respectfully while providing reassurance where needed.

The service also operated a bespoke 24-hour, seven-day-a-week on-call system, providing people, their families and staff with access to consistent and knowledgeable support when required.

Where concerns were raised, managers investigated them quickly and sensitively, identified lessons and took action to make improvements to the service.

Alison Chilton, CQC deputy director of operations in the north-east region, said inspectors had found an exceptional service providing kind and compassionate care.

She highlighted the work being done to support people to develop their independence and achieve personal goals, and said staff and leaders should be proud of the inspection findings.

CQC said the service demonstrated a commitment to treating people as individuals and empowering them to lead fulfilling lives, with the regulator suggesting other services could learn from its approach.

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