Aldam House and Cottage

Aldam House and Cottage is a supported living service and is close to local shops and amenities. The service is registered to provide support to adults who may be living with a learning disability or autism spectrum disorder, mental health or physical disabilities. It also provides support to younger adults and people who misuse drugs and alcohol. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care to 3 people. The service can support up to 10 people.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

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

At the time of the inspection, the location did not care or support for anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.

Right Support:

Staff supported people to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence over their own lives. People had a choice about their living environment and were able to personalise their rooms. Staff supported people to take part in activities and pursue their interests. People were supported to access specialist health and social care support in the community. Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcome. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Right Care:

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to people’s individual needs. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. Staff had received training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs. People’s care, treatment and support plans reflected their range of needs, and this promoted their well-being and enjoyment of life. Where appropriate staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.

Right Culture:

People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff. Staff knew and understood people well and were responsive, supporting their aspirations to live a quality life of their choosing. Staff turnover was low, which supported people to receive consistent care from staff who knew them well. People were involved in planning their own care.

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 11 October 2017)

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service and due to the length of time since the service was last inspected.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Aldam House and Cottage on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

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. The home had a registered manager in post and they will be referred to as ‘the manager’ throughout the report.

People were kept safe by care workers who understood their responsibilities to protect them from avoidable harm and abuse. Information on how to raise a concern or make a complaint was easily accessible to people and they could voice any concerns during regular house meetings. People were included in planning their care and support needs and relatives were invited to participate with their consent. Care workers promoted social inclusion and planned daily activities and events according to people’s choices.

We saw there were sufficient numbers of care workers on duty to meet all of the needs of people living at the service. Recruitment procedures were robust and care workers received a good level of training and support to meet people’s needs in a person centred way. Care workers used different methods of communication, some that people had adapted to suit their own needs. This allowed people to openly express and communicate their preferences and work towards achieving their goals. People were supported to make their own decisions and if they were not able to do so then decisions were made in their best interests with involvement from their loved ones.

Risks to people’s health and well-being were assessed and updated regularly, plans were put in place to minimise them so people could live as independently as they were able to. Medicines were supported safely and records maintained accurately. Care workers supported people to learn life skills including budgeting, shopping and cooking so that they had choices about the food and drink they consumed.

Care workers and people living at the service told us the manager was honest, approachable and always available to speak with. The manager supported people’s relatives to understand the impact of conditions and how they could best support them to work through changes. They shared information and literature with relatives - this provided them with a greater understanding about their loved ones health and how best to support their well-being.

We were told that the manager was open to people’s ideas and encouraged feedback to improve service delivery. The manager had systems and processes in place to ensure records were monitored and reviewed regularly. The organisation also completed their own internal audits in line with CQC values to maintain standards of service and to highlight any improvements that could be made.