Sacro Glasgow Supported Accommodation Service Housing Support Service

Transcription

1 Sacro Glasgow Supported Accommodation Service Housing Support Service 2nd Floor Central Chambers 93 Hope Street Glasgow G2 6LD Telephone: Type of inspection: Announced (short notice) Inspection completed on: 13 October 2017 Service provided by: Sacro Service provider number: SP Care service number: CS

2 About the service SACRO is a national organisation within the Criminal Justice sector. SACRO Glasgow Supported Accommodation Service was registered with the Care Inspectorate as a new service on 24 September This service provides support to people who are at risk of homelessness and have had some involvement in the criminal justice system. The service supports up to 60 people living in supported accommodation. SACRO Glasgow Supported Accommodation service states the following in their aims and objectives statement: 'SACRO's Supported Accommodation Service in Glasgow provides advice, support and assistance in order to support individuals to acquire housing opportunities and the practical and social skills required for independent living. The service supports people in the community who have problems relating to homelessness and offending by providing temporary accommodation with a view to securing permanent housing through advocacy, support and partnership with housing providers'. Stated service aims include the following: - Promote choice and maintain life skills and opportunities to follow a healthy lifestyle. - Support individuals to participate in person centred support plans specific to their needs. - Ensure supported individuals have the resources to participate in activities, training and employability services within their communities. - Be committed to working to the highest ethical standards. These include integrity, recognising and valuing diversity and promoting equality. - SACRO's overarching aim is to reduce conflict and offending and make communities safer. What people told us We spoke face to face with one service user during our inspection visit and following our inspection visit we spoke with five service users by telephone. All service users we spoke with were very positive about the support they received from staff at SACRO Glasgow supported accommodation service. The following comments were included amongst the comments we heard from service users: 'I've had a positive experience, I feel reassured, more confident, my keyworker supported me to apply for jobs. I know she can't support me forever - its support to help me build bridges. I've made my house a home with the help of my keyworker. My keyworker encourages me, its like talking to a friend'. 'Staff are helpful, friendly and welcoming. They are respectful'. 'They commit time and effort to each individual'. 'My keyworker asks me what I'm doing. I can relate to her and she helps me out a lot. I've not got many people I can talk to'. 'Its been positive, my keyworker is always there for me and never lets me down. She helps me with things I can't fix, she knows the contacts'. 'They give me the support I need'. page 2 of 6

3 'The support's been brilliant, magic. I was homeless, I was sofa surfing but since social work put me in touch with SACRO my life has improved. I'm now bidding for houses. They helped me to get to that point... I'm well on my way to recovery and looking forward to the future... they have a wee chat if I need to talk. They're nonjudgemental and respectful... I'm so lucky to have been given a second chance. I'm loving living here'. 'They help me solve problems. If it hadn't been for SACRO to turn to I don't know where I'd be. Staff are down to earth, they help you any way they can... They've made me feel better. SACRO's stopped me going into a really bad depression. They listen to me... If I leave a message they always get back to me... Staff are caring, if I doubt myself they help me to think of things differently... its good to be engaged with them'. 'I was a recluse, they helped to get me out of my house... they made me feel I meant something... They helped me gain self worth and to believe in myself. I wouldn't have achieved what I have without SACRO'. Self assessment A self assessment was not requested prior to this inspection visit. From this inspection we graded this service as: Quality of care and support Quality of staffing Quality of management and leadership 5 - Very Good 5 - Very Good not assessed What the service does well The service provides support to individuals experiencing homelessness and who have had some involvement in the criminal justice system. People using the service were supported to establish independent, stable, offence free lifestyles and to secure their own permanent tenancy. Service users we spoke to were receiving a very good quality of support and we were told the support individuals received had made a positive difference to their lives. The service had started using a specialist support planning tool which was tailored to record the needs of individuals who had had some involvement in the criminal justice system. The service used an electronic case management system to support their record keeping. This allowed all support staff to access individual service users support records if necessary. This meant that even when particular keyworkers were absent other staff could provide support to individuals which was informed by up to date records. We found from speaking with professionals from external partner agencies that staff worked closely with other organisations to ensure that the support delivered across services was streamlined. This partnership working involved SACRO staff attending reviews held by external agencies working with individuals and also inviting professionals from those agencies to individuals' reviews held within SACRO. Individuals who experienced isolation were given the additional support of a befriender. We heard from individual service users that they had found the befriending service helpful. The service had organised a range of activities for service users which included social and therapeutic input. The service supported individuals to gain insight into their behaviour and order to identify and make any necessary changes. page 3 of 6

4 We found from speaking with service users, staff within the service and staff from external agencies that the staff team worked hard to build effective working relationships with the individuals they supported. The staff we spoke to had brought a range of qualifications and experience to their roles. Staff were knowledgeable about the needs of individual service users. Staff held a sound value base and were insightful about the experiences of service users. Staff told us they felt supported in their professional roles and received regular supervision. The wider SACRO organisation supported the staff in a number of ways. We found staff had been given opportunities to pursue their areas of relevant professional interest. SACRO employed a learning and development manager who offered support across SACRO services. Team members were able to access SACRO's training resources. Staff were also able to access a range of training opportunities outwith SACRO. This helped to ensure that staff were able to deliver support which was informed by recent developments in the sector. The service had their own staff training database which recorded training completed by each individual member of the team. This database flagged up when particular refresher training courses were required for individuals. The service had recently held a planning day to which both staff and service users were invited. This had been an opportunity for both service users and staff to contribute to the future development of the service. We found individual staff members had been given opportunities to progress within the organisation. Individual staff members told us they felt they had a voice within their service, that if they made suggestions those suggestions would be given fair consideration. Staff members had been given opportunities to share their strengths and professional knowledge across the staff team. Team morale was strong. Staff were motivated to support individuals and achieved job satisfaction from observing individuals work towards achieving identified goals. What the service could do better The service was planning to create a 'You said, we did board to reflect responses to service users' suggestions. The service planned to participate in a national online practice development forum for SACRO team leaders employed in projects across Scotland. We would support the above areas of development which will be followed up at the next inspection. The service had agreed to develop their quality assurance systems in relation to formally reviewing individual service users' risk assessments/risk management plans. This will contribute to ensuring that there are reliable systems in place to identify and respond to any changes in risk (see recommendation 1). Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 1 1. The service should develop their quality assurance systems for formally reviewing individuals' risk assessments/risk management plans. page 4 of 6

5 National Care Standards Housing Support Services. Standard 3: Management and Staffing Arrangements Complaints There have been no complaints upheld since the last inspection. Details of any older upheld complaints are published at Inspection and grading history Date Type Gradings 1 Oct 2015 Announced (short notice) Care and support 5 - Very good Environment Not assessed Staffing 5 - Very good Management and leadership 5 - Very good page 5 of 6

6 To find out more This inspection report is published by the Care Inspectorate. You can download this report and others from our website. Care services in Scotland cannot operate unless they are registered with the Care Inspectorate. We inspect, award grades and help services to improve. We also investigate complaints about care services and can take action when things aren't good enough. Please get in touch with us if you would like more information or have any concerns about a care service. You can also read more about our work online at Contact us Care Inspectorate Compass House 11 Riverside Drive Dundee DD1 4NY enquiries@careinspectorate.com Find us on Facebook Other languages and formats This report is available in other languages and formats on request. Tha am foillseachadh seo ri fhaighinn ann an cruthannan is cànain eile ma nithear iarrtas. page 6 of 6