Meadowside

Updated 4 April 2019

The inspection:

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.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type:

Meadowside 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.

Meadowside is registered to accommodate up to 10 people. It is a respite service, offering overnight stays for people with learning disabilities, who usually live with family members or carers. Meadowside provides respite support for 84 people. At the time of the inspection there were six people staying at the service, one was on long stay placement, meaning they were living at the service until a more suitable place could be found.

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.

What we did:

Before visiting the service, we looked at previous inspection reports and information sent to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) through notifications. Notifications are information we receive when a significant event happens, like a death or a serious injury.

We also looked at information sent to us by the registered manager through the Provider Information Return (PIR). The PIR contains information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We reviewed three people's care plans. We also looked at a variety of different sources of information relating to these people, such as; care and support plans, activity plans and risk assessments. In addition, we looked at; surveys, staff rotas, training records, recruitment files, medicine administration records, complaints and accident logs. We asked the manager to send us some documentation via email after the inspection. These were received on the days following the inspection.

On inspection, we spoke with three people and observed interaction between staff, the registered manager and people. We also spoke with the registered manager and three members of staff.

After the inspection we spoke with one relative.

Updated 4 April 2019

About the service:

Meadowside 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.

Meadowside is registered to accommodate a maximum of 10 people at any time. It is a respite service, offering occasional overnight stays for people with learning disabilities, who usually live with family members or carers. Meadowside provides access to respite support for 84 people in total. At the time of the inspection there were six people staying at the service, one was on long stay placement, meaning they were living at the service until a more suitable place could be found.

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.

People’s experience of using this service:

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support. People were encouraged to be a part of the local community; attending clubs, the library, pubs, visiting local shops, cafes, swimming pools and gyms. People were supported to move on to supported living services to become more independent.

Since the last inspection, where we found four breaches of regulations, we found that improvements had been made so the service was no longer in breach and now met the characteristic of good in all areas.

¿ People were provided with the support they required. People and their relatives/carers took an active role in developing their care and support plans and these were reviewed each time a person revisited the service to ensure information was up-to-date.

¿ We asked people if they felt safe and they nodded. Relatives told us that they felt their loved ones were safe and well cared for.

¿ There were safeguarding and complaints information in easy read and pictorial form for people and the information was communicated to people in resident's meetings.

¿ Risks to people were identified and mitigated. Since the last inspection, the fire system had been completely replaced and new fire doors had been fitted throughout.

¿ New positive behaviour training and support plans had been implemented so staff had a greater understanding of people's behaviour and how to manage and overcome it safely.

¿ There were enough staff who had appropriate training to support people and it was clear to see that people felt relaxed and comfortable in the company of staff. Staff knew people well and we saw agency staff and staff who had little contact with people previously reading people’s care plans and communication aids before they met them.

¿ People had access to medicines which were stored safely and checked by staff. People were encouraged to take their medicine independently.

¿ Incidents and accidents were investigated and learnt from so the risk of reoccurrence was reduced.

¿ People received the necessary support when they were physically or mentally unwell as staff worked closely with medical professionals and people's relatives/carers.

¿ People had a choice of what they had to eat and drink. Refreshments were available throughout the day and people were encouraged to make their own drinks and help prepare meals.

¿ The environment was adaptable and met people's needs. It was clean, and the premises had been redecorated throughout.

¿ People's privacy and dignity were respected.

¿ Personal independence was promoted, and people were challenged to try new things and learn new skills.

Rating at last inspection: At the last inspection we rated the service requires improvement. (Published 1 March 2018).

Why we inspected:

Scheduled inspection based on previous rating of requires improvement.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor this service to ensure that it continues to be good.

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