26 July 2016
During a routine inspection
We previously inspected the service on 08 October 2014. The service was meeting the requirements of the regulations at that time.
Poppy Cottage is registered to provide personal care. It provided this within supported living accommodation. At the time of our inspection sixteen people were being supported by the service.
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.
We received some outstanding feedback from people and their relatives. Comments included, “In our opinion Poppy is excellent, and the care she receives is outstanding and she has improved in so many ways due to the care she is given”, “Our opinion of the way Poppy is managed we feel it is of the highest standard”, “We definitely recommend the service”, “I feel safe, as the staff are always around” and “It’s a safe haven for her, I am reassured that she is looked after.”
People were protected from avoidable harm as the service had safeguarding procedures and staff knew what to do should a safeguarding concern be raised.
Poppy Cottage prides itself on providing a personalised service which helped people to achieve their maximum potential. We received many examples of how the service had supported people to move from supported living to more independent living. The registered manager told us “One of the main reasons were all so passionate about our work is because all our staff including myself are equal. I’ ve always maintained each of us are on the same level, some of us have more qualifications and experience but our work ethic is the same, it's the way I've always worked with staff and I believe it works, our staff are always willing to go the extra mile.”
People were supported by staff with the right skills and attributes as the service had a robust recruitment process. All the required checks were made.
People received their medicines when required and staff only provided support with medicines after they had received the appropriate training.
People were supported to undertake activities of their choice. Staff met with each person every week to plan forthcoming events. This ensured there was enough staff on duty to make sure the activities took place. In the event of unplanned absences of staff, other staff were flexible to cover the shifts. Where possible people were supported to attend work placements and or college.
Care plans were written in a way to ensure staff knew how to support people; they were reviewed on a regular basis to ensure the information was up to date.
People were supported to maintain a healthy lifestyle and were supported to attend important medical appointments.
People and their relatives had confidence in the management team. Comments included “I have always found that (manager) and her team not only provide the care that you would expect from a Supported Living environment but are always willing to go the ‘extra mile’ to make sure their service users are happy and well adjusted” and “We are confident she is very good hands.”