Archived: Dimensions 6 Queens View Crescent

Updated 26 June 2015

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the registered 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.

The inspection took place on 29 May 2015 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of one adult social care inspector.

Prior to the inspection we spoke with the local authority contracts and performance team about their views of the service and received a report they completed of their last visit to the service.

During the inspection we observed how staff interacted with people who used the service. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection [SOFI]. SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We spoke with the relatives of four people who used the service. We spoke with the registered manager and three support workers. We spoke with a speech and language therapist following the inspection.

We looked care files of two people who used the service. We also looked at other important documentation relating to the six people who used the service such as their medication administration records [MARs] and accident reports. We looked at how the service used the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to ensure that when people were assessed as lacking capacity to make their own decisions, best interest meetings were held in order to make important decisions on their behalf. We also checked to make sure the registered provider acted within the law when people who lacked capacity were deprived of their liberty.

We looked at a selection of documentation relating to the management and running of the service. These included two staff recruitment files, supervision and training records, the staff rota, menus, minutes of meetings with staff and those with people who used the service, quality assurance audits and maintenance of equipment records.

Updated 26 June 2015

This unannounced inspection took place on 29 May 2015. At the last inspection on16 June 2013, the registered provider was compliant with all the regulations we assessed.

Dimensions 6 Queens View Crescent is a purpose built single storey home for up to six people with a learning disability. It is situated in a residential setting and close to local facilities. The home has six single bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, a laundry and a large lounge/dining room. There is a garden at the rear of the property and car parking at the front. At the time of the inspection there were six people living in the home.

The service has a registered manager. 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 found staff were recruited in a safe way; all checks were in place before they started work and they received an induction. Staff received training and support to equip them with the skills and knowledge required to support the people who used the service. There were sufficient staff on duty to meet people’s health and welfare needs.

We found there were systems in place to protect people from the risk of harm and abuse. Staff had received training and knew how to report any concerns. They had policies and procedures to guide them.

We found people’s health and nutritional needs were met and they had access to a range of professionals in the community for advice, treatment and support. We saw staff monitored people’s health and responded quickly to any concerns. There had been some errors regarding medicines administration since the last inspection but we found improvements had been made in the way staff managed medicines. This ensured people received their medicines as prescribed which helped to maintain their health.

We saw people had assessments of their needs and care was planned and delivered in a person-centred way. Risk assessments had been completed to provide staff with guidance in how to minimise risk without this impinging too much on people’s independence. People had access to activities within the service and community facilities.

We observed staff treated people with dignity and respect and it was clear they knew people’s needs well. Staff helped people to make their own choices and decisions. When people were assessed as lacking capacity, staff followed the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and held best interest meetings, with relevant people present, to make decisions on their behalf.

We found the environment was accessible and safe for people. Equipment used in the home was serviced and an issue of overloaded extension leads was addressed on the day of inspection.

There was a system of audits and checks to look for shortfalls and to rectify them so the quality of care could be improved. This had proved effective, for example in the management of medicines. Relatives and staff told us they felt able to express their views about the service.