The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Mansfield Supported Living as outstanding following its first inspection in June.
Mansfield Supported Living, run by Eden Supported Living Limited, cares for adults in supported living settings, including autistic people and people with a learning disability. At the time of the assessment, the service supported six people across five different properties.
CQC carried out the inspection in line with its ‘right support, right care, right culture’ guidance. This assesses whether a service guarantees autistic people and people with a learning disability the respect, equality, dignity, choice, independence and access to local communities that most people take for granted.
CQC has rated how safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led the service is as outstanding.
Greg Rielly, CQC’s deputy director of adult social care in the East Midlands, said:
“When we inspected Mansfield Supported Living, we found it stood out as a genuinely exceptional service, where the quality of care was making a real and lasting difference to people’s lives.
“What struck our inspectors most was how deeply the team understood each person as an individual. This included their personal histories, communication styles, goals and what mattered to them. Staff used this understanding to shape every aspect of the support people received.
“One person, who had historically been assessed as non-verbal, had developed meaningful verbal communication through the consistent, tailored support staff provided. Another, who had previously lived a reclusive lifestyle, was now accessing the community every day.
“The service had a culture where positive risk-taking was actively encouraged. Staff supported people to go on holidays, try new activities and pursue ambitions they’d previously felt were out of reach, and made sure they were safe while doing so. This was having extremely positive impacts on their confidence and independence.
“The leadership team created an environment where staff felt genuinely supported, listened to and empowered to raise concerns and challenge practice. Staff also worked closely with healthcare professionals and specialist services to support people’s health, securing funding for community activities, day centre placements and increased one-to-one support where people needed it.
“We’d like to congratulate the whole team at Mansfield Supported Living on these findings. This is the standard of care we hope to see.”
Inspectors found:
The service challenged historic assessments and care plans where these didn’t reflect people’s actual abilities, ensuring people’s support promoted independence rather than limiting it unnecessarily.
Staff helped one person who had previously struggled with self-neglect to take small but meaningful steps towards independence, improving their physical health and wellbeing through patient, person-centred support.
Leaders actively involved people in shaping the service, including in staff recruitment and in recognition awards, ensuring their voices influenced how the service was run.
People managed their own medicines where possible, growing in confidence and living more independently as a result.
Leaders supported and empowered staff, helping to attract and retain a motivated workforce focused on people’s goals.
