Carlton Drive Short Breaks Service

Updated 25 October 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Carlton Short Breaks Service is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Carlton Short Breaks Service provided people with short stays away from their families. These are an opportunity for people to have fun, share experiences and socialise outside their family home. They also give relatives and carers the opportunity to have a break from their caring role.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

We visited the location on 14 October 2019 and made telephone calls to relatives on the 15 October 2019.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We observed interactions between staff and six people. We spoke with four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with nine members of staff including the service improvement manager, service manager, registered manager, team leader and care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and medicines records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits, meeting minutes, and accident and incident records were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at information such as training records and recruitment documentation.

We reviewed the information in the provider information return. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we made our judgements.

Updated 25 October 2019

About the service

Carlton Drive Short Breaks service is a residential care home providing personal care to people with a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder, physical disability, sensory Impairment and to younger Adults. Carlton Drive Short Breaks service accommodates seven people at any one time in one adapted building. At the time of our inspection 57 people accessed the service for short breaks.

There was a day service attached to Carlton Drive Short Breaks service, staff worked across both services. People staying for a short break could access the day service during the day should they wish. Since the last inspection the service had increased the number of people it could support from six to seven.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People received care from staff that were kind, caring and compassionate. Staff enjoyed their work and treated people as if they were a family member. A relative said, “The staff are just amazing. They really do go above the call of duty and really do care.” People and staff had built positive relationships together and enjoyed spending time together. Staff were respectful and open to people of all faiths and beliefs. People’s privacy and dignity was respected.

People were supported by staff that took time to find out about their hobbies and interests and supported them to engage in these. Activities were available for people to choose from and people could access the day service during the week should they wish. Relatives knew how to raise a concern or make a complaint and felt confident concerns would be addressed.

People were supported by staff that kept them safe from harm or abuse. Without exception all relatives told us, they felt assured safe care would be provided by staff they knew and trusted. People received medicines on time and were supported by staff that had been safely recruited. Staff had a good knowledge of risks associated with providing people’s care and had received adequate training to meet people’s individual care needs.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive ways possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People’s needs were assessed before receiving care from Carlton Short Breaks Service to inform the development of their care plans. Pre-stay calls were made to relatives to ensure care plans and risk assessments were updated before people’s stay. People were supported to eat and drink enough and received healthcare support as needed.

People knew the management team by name. The service sought feedback from relatives about their care experience to ensure any issues or concerns were promptly addressed. The registered manager had a good oversight of the service. Quality assurance systems and processes enabled them to identify areas for improvement. Without exception relatives and staff told us they would recommend the service.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good. (Published 26 April 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.