12 June 2018
During a routine inspection
There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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.
At the time of the inspection, 94 people received some element of support with their personal care. This is the service’s fourth inspection under its current registration. At the previous inspection, the service was rated as ‘Requires Improvement’ overall. At this inspection, they improved the overall rating to ‘Good’.
People told us staff made them feel safe when staff supported them. Effective processes were in place to reduce the risk of people experiencing avoidable harm and to people’s ongoing health and safety. There were enough staff to support people and staff arrival times were closely monitored to ensure sustained levels of punctuality. People’s medicines were managed safely. Staff understood how to reduce the risk of the spread of infection. The provider had processes in place to investigate accidents and incidents and to learn from mistakes.
People’s care was provided in line with current legislation and best practice guidelines. People felt staff were well trained and understood how to support them. Records showed staff received ongoing training, professional development and supervision. People’s nutritional needs were met and staff supported people effectively with their meals. Information was available to support staff with caring for people. Other health and social care agencies were involved where further support was needed for people. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
People liked the staff who supported them and they felt they were treated with dignity and respect. Staff communicated effectively with people and positive relationships between them had been formed. People were encouraged to do as much for themselves as possible and were involved with decisions about their care.
Assessments of people’s needs were carried out before joining the service to ensure staff were able to support them effectively. People’s care records were person centred and people told us staff respected their wished to have their care provided in the way they wanted. People felt staff responded to their complaints effectively, records viewed confirmed this. People’s diverse needs were discussed with them during their initial assessment and then during further reviews.
The registered manager carried out their role in line with their registration with the CQC. Notifiable incidents were reported to the CQC. The registered manager took an active role in ensuring the risks to people’s safety was acted on immediately. They were supported by a dedicated staff team and the provider in doing so. High quality staff performance was rewarded. People and staff were given the opportunity comment on how the service could be developed and improved. Auditing processes were in place and these were effective in identifying and acting on the risks to people’s health, safety and well-being.