Archived: Amberleigh

Updated 30 December 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 24 and 25 November 2016 and was unannounced. It was carried out by one inspector.

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. This included previous inspection reports, statutory notifications (issues providers are legally required to notify us about), other enquiries received from or about the service and the Provider’s Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and the improvements they plan to make. The service was last inspected on 29 August 2014. At that time, the service was meeting essential standards of quality and safety and no concerns were identified.

We were unable to have conversations with the people who used the service due to their speech and language difficulties. In order to gain an understanding of people’s experience of the service, we observed staff practices and their interactions with the four people who were using the service at the time of our inspection visit. Following the inspection, we telephoned five relatives of people who used the service to obtain their views on the service.

During the inspection, we spoke with six members of care staff and reviewed three people’s care plans and other records relevant to the running of the service. This included responses from relatives to the service’s latest quality assurance questionnaires, staff training records, medication records, complaints and incident files. The registered manager was off duty at the times we visited but we had a telephone conversation with them on the second day of our inspection.

Updated 30 December 2016

This inspection took place on 24 and 25 November 2016 and was unannounced. The service was last inspected on 29 August 2014 and no concerns were identified at that time.

The service provides short break respite care, including accommodation and support, for up to six people at any one time with multiple learning disabilities. At the time of inspection, a total of 18 people received short break respite services at Amberleigh. People stayed at Amberleigh for varying lengths of time; ranging from one night each week to occasional blocks of 14 consecutive nights, depending on their assessed needs and their family’s requirements. Most of the people who used the service had complex learning and physical disabilities with limited or no verbal communication skills. Many of the people required one or more staff members to support them if they went out into the community.

The service had 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.

Responses to the latest relative’s questionnaire showed relative’s felt Amberleigh was providing a good service and there were lots of positive comments, particularly about the staff. The majority of relatives said they were kept well informed and they were able to contact staff and management if they wanted to discuss anything. One person commented “Overall Amberleigh provides an invaluable respite service with the resources available”.

People’s relatives told us the management and staff were very caring. A relative said “Staff are not just there for the money. They are all absolutely lovely, approachable and caring. You can tell they genuinely care”. We observed staff interacted with people in a friendly and considerate manner and respected their choices. Staff were very patient and took time to try to understand people’s wishes and preferences even though they could not express themselves verbally. No one was made to do anything they did not want to.

Relatives told us the service was effective in meeting people’s needs. One relative said “I would say they meet all their needs. All aspects of personal care, bathing and meals. Staff have been trained to do their epilepsy medicines and seizures are dealt with absolutely brilliantly”. Staff received comprehensive training and supervision to ensure they had the knowledge and skills to provide the care and support people needed. The service also worked in close partnership with local health and social care professionals and sought specialist support and advice when needed. This helped to ensure people’s health and wellbeing was maintained.

There were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs and to keep them safe from avoidable harm. When we inspected there were four people receiving respite care and four members of staff to support them. We observed a member of staff was always available when people needed assistance. Staff had time to engage socially with people as well as meet people’s personal care needs. One member of staff said “On the whole we have a good amount of cover with lots of social stuff regardless of people’s needs. We do things like playing catch, colouring or go out if staffing allows”.

The provider had an effective quality assurance system which ensured the service maintained good standards of care and promoted continuing improvements.

Amberleigh is in the process of transitioning from local authority control to a new social enterprise organisation, along with the other Somerset local authority learning disability services. There is a property development improvement plan for Amberleigh and other services at the Isaacs Close site, this is due to commence in early 2017. The development is a complete new build of accommodation; the plans to achieve the development will necessitate the relocation of services, as a result Amberleigh will be relocating to temporary premises in the New Year.

People’s relatives and staff had been briefed about the changes. The registered manager planned to hold an open day for people, relatives and staff to view the temporary accommodation prior to the move. They said the long term plans for the respite service were under discussion and had yet to be finalised.