This inspection took place on 23 and 24 November 2016 and was announced.Green Lane View is a Housing With Care scheme with 30 flats. Care and support is provided to the tenants who live in their own flats. At the time of our inspection there were 27 people using the service.
There was 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.
People felt safe using the service and they were supported by staff who had undergone the appropriate checks to ensure that they were suitable to work for the service. Staff understood what constitutes abuse and knew the procedure they would follow to report any suspicions of abuse. Risks to people’s physical and emotional wellbeing had been identified and steps had been taken to mitigate these risks.
People were supported by appropriately trained staff and there was consistently enough staff to meet people’s care and support needs as defined in their care package.
Staff who supported people with their medicines had received the appropriate training and there was clear guidance for staff to follow regarding the safe handling and administration of people’s medicines. Staff were also regularly assessed to ensure that they were competent in this area.
CQC is required to monitor the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and report on what we find. The service operated within the guidelines of the MCA and where necessary made decisions for people in their best interests. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of the MCA and were able to explain how they gained consent and promoted choice wherever possible.
Where risks had been identified relating to people’s nutritional intake, people worked in accordance with people’s care packages to support people to maintain a healthy nutritional intake.
People’s care and support needs were assessed on a daily basis and where there were concerns regarding a person’s health, people were supported to access relevant healthcare professionals.
People and other relevant people to them were involved in planning and reviewing their care. Staff were caring and had a good understanding of people’s care and support needs.
There was an appropriate complaints procedure in place and people were comfortable in raising a complaint if they needed to.
There were regular meetings for people who used the service where people could put forward any suggestions about how the service could improve.
There were systems in place to monitor and assess the quality of care being delivered and people were also asked to complete an annual survey regarding their care. Steps were taken to address any concerns raised in a timely manner and people were involved in any ongoing development of the service.