Background to this inspection
Updated
28 June 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 checked 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 26 April 2016 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of one adult social care inspector.
The service was previously inspected in July 2014 when it was found to be fully compliant with the regulations. Prior to the inspection we reviewed the Provider Information Record (PIR) and previous inspection reports. The PIR is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed the information we held about the service and notifications we had received. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law.
During the inspection we spoke with the four people who used the service, one person’s relative, five members of care staff, the registered manager and two health professionals who regularly visited the service. In addition we observed staff supporting people throughout the home and while preparing the evening meal. We also inspected a range of records. These included two care plans, four staff files, training records, staff duty rotas, meeting minutes and the services policies and procedures.
Updated
28 June 2016
We inspected 8 St Winifred's Road on 26 April 2016, the inspection was unannounced. The service was previously inspected in July 2014 when it was fully compliant with the regulations. The inspection team consisted of a single adult social care inspector.
The service is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to eight people who have a learning disability. At the time of our inspection seven people were living at the service. There was a registered manager in post. 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.
People told us, “The staff are good fun” and we saw that people were happy and comfortable within the service and enjoyed the company of their care staff. Staff told us “People are happy here” and, “It’s a lovely place really. It is really really brilliant. You look forward to coming to work.” While professionals commented, “[Person’s name] seems very happy.”
The registered manager and staff knew people well and staff spoke warmly of the people they supported. Staff told us, “the people are lovely” and, “my service users are fantastic, it can be hard work but it is worth it.” Staff understood local procedures for the safeguarding of vulnerable adults and their responsibilities in relation to protecting people from possible abuse.
People’s care plans were detailed, informative and up to date. Each person’s care plan provided staff with detailed guidance on how to meet their individual care needs. This including information on the level of support the person normally required with specific activities. People, relatives and care staff met regularly to review and updated people care plans. During these meeting people’s individual goals were discussed and plans developed to support people to achieve these objectives.
Risks had been clearly identified and people’s care plans provided staff with guidance on the actions staff must take to protect people and themselves from identified risks.
Staff did not use physical restraint and we observed them successfully using techniques described within people care plans to help people to manage their anxiety.
People were supported to lead full and varied lives and staff supported people to engage in a wide variety of activities they enjoyed. People told us they enjoyed living at the service and one person said, “I work on Thursday in the kitchen, I enjoy it.” People were able to choose which activities they engaged in each day and staff responded promptly when people wished to engage with individual activities. For example, one person decided they wanted to go out for a picnic lunch in a local park, staff supported the person to prepare sandwiches before leaving for the walk. Staff told us, “This is a very busy house, no two days are the same.”
To ensure people did not become socially isolated the service regularly hosted events in local community centres and a public house. These included a weekly craft and social evening, disco nights and other evening activities. Some people had expressed an wish to vote during the general election. Easy to read campaign materials had been sourced and parliamentary candidates invited to an event to help people choose who they wished to vote for.
People’s privacy and dignity was consistently respected. Staff supported and encouraged people to make decisions and respected their choices. Staff told us, “There is lots going on, people have free choice of what they want to do. Real freedom of choice. People are supported to live rather than carers doing things for people.”
Although the service was short staffed there were enough staff on duty to on the day of our inspection to ensure people’s care needs were met. The service was actively recruiting to fill four staff vacancies and agency staff had been used appropriately to ensure all planned staff shifts were covered. The services recruitment processes were safe and robust. Visits to the service formed part of the interview process to provide people with an opportunity to meet prospective members of staff.
All new staff received formal induction training designed to ensure staff understood their new role and felt confident they could meet people’s needs before they provided care and support independently. Staff told us, “One new member of staff has been shadowing for at least three months. It is quite a long time”, “I think the training is well organised” and “I have had lots of training.”
The staff team were well motivated and focused on enabling the people they supported to be as independent as possible. Staff told us they were well supported by the registered manager and that their feedback was listened to and valued. The registered manager valued the staff team’s commitment to supporting people to be as independent as possible and told us, “I think I am really lucky with the team in general.” Records showed staff received regular supervision, annual performance appraisals and that staff meetings were held regularly at the service. .
Weekly menu planning meetings were held at the service and people were involved in the planning of the service’s menu, shopping for ingredients and preparing meals.
Accidents and incidents were appropriately recorded and had been fully investigated by the service’s registered manager. Regular audits of the service’s performance had been completed by the registered manager to assess the service’s performance and identify any areas where improvements could be made. In addition the provider’s quality assurance team had visited the service in January 2016. Recommendations made as a result of this visit had been addressed by the registered manager.
People knew how to make complaints and information about the service’s complaints procedure was displayed in an easily understood format in the kitchen. A survey of people’s views on the service’s performance had recently been completed and the feedback people had provided was entirely positive.