Archived: Alyson House

Updated 18 March 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on the 13 January 2016 and was unannounced and was carried out by one inspector.

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service including previous reports and notifications. We also reviewed safeguarding alerts and information received from a local authority and other Commissioners. Notifications are important events that the service has to let the Care Quality Commission know about by law.

We spoke with five of the people using the service and two of their relatives. We also spoke with the manager, deputy manager, one senior care co-ordinators and one support staff. We also spoke to one health and social care professionals. We reviewed three people’s care files. We also looked at quality monitoring, audit information and policies held at the service and the service’s staff support records for two members of staff.

Updated 18 March 2016

The unannounced inspection took place on the 13 January 2016.

Alyson House provides accommodation and support for up to a maximum of nine people who have a learning disability. At the time of our inspection they were nine people living in the service.

The service is required to and did have a registered manager. 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 delivered support effectively and care was provided in a way that intended to promote people’s independence and wellbeing, whilst people’s safety was ensured. Staff were recruited and employed upon completion of appropriate checks as part of a robust recruitment process. Sufficient numbers of staff enabled people’s individual needs to be met adequately. Qualified staff dispensed medications and monitored people’s health satisfactorily.

Staff understood their responsibilities and how to keep people safe. People’s rights were also protected because management and staff understood the legal framework of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

The registered manager and staff ensured access to healthcare services were readily available to people and worked with a range of health professionals, such as social workers, community mental health nurses and GPs to implement care and support plans.

Staff were respectful and compassionate towards people ensuring privacy and dignity was valued. People were supported in a person centred way by staff who understood their roles in relation to encouraging independence whilst mitigating potential risks. People were supported to identify their own interests and pursue them with the assistance of staff. Person centred social activities took place within the service as well as in the community.

Systems were in place to make sure that people’s views were gathered. These included regular meetings, direct interactions with people and questionnaires being distributed to people, relatives and healthcare professionals. The service was assisted to run effectively by the use of quality monitoring audits the manager carried out, which identified any improvements needed. A complaints procedure was in place and had been implemented appropriately by the management team.