We carried out a review of the data available to us about Avalon West Yorkshire Services on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Avalon West Yorkshire Services, you can give feedback on this service.
About the service
Avalon West Yorkshire Services is a domiciliary care agency and a supported living service which provides personal care to people in their own homes and individual flats. Support is provided to people with a learning disability and autism, mental health conditions and physical disabilities.
The supported living service includes two buildings with individual flats. One building has an accessible communal area, an office and a sleep room for staff. At the time of our inspection there were 41 people using the service. Twenty-five people were receiving a regulated activity.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Most staff we spoke with demonstrated a good understanding of the mental capacity act (MCA); however, some staffs language when referring to MCA and consent was not in line with best practice. People's support needs and risks were assessed to identify how their care could be provided safely. Staff supported people to achieve their goals, take part in meaningful activities and pursue their interests. The provider was struggling with recruitment and the management team were filling gaps in staffing to meet people’s needs. We discussed this with the leadership team who evidenced steps taken to promote recruitment and retention of staff through regularly advertising, financial incentives and a local recruitment drive.
We have made a recommendation the provider monitors and refreshes staffs understanding of MCA and consent.
Right Care
People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people's privacy and dignity. Staff understood and responded to people’s individual needs. People had access to health care professionals when they needed them. The provider was developing care plans to reflect people’s choices, preferences and wishes should they need support at the end of their life. Medicines were managed safely. Not all staff were compliant with training courses. However, the provider had an action plan in place to achieve higher levels of compliance.
We have made a recommendation the provider continues to promote full compliance with training.
Right Culture
People received good quality care, support and treatment because staff knew their needs well and they received regular supervision from managers. Feedback from people and relatives was mostly positive. Relatives felt support and care had been provided to a high standard with very good outcomes for people. Decreased staffing levels was having an impact on staff morale, this was reported by both staff and relatives. Tasks related to the governance of the service had also naturally been impacted due to the management team supporting people in addition to their responsibilities. However, the provider through the commitment of the management team and staff, had minimised the impact on people’s care and support.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 30 December 2020 at their current address. The last rating for the service at the previous premises was Good, published on 17 March 2020.
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.