18 April 2018
During a routine inspection
The inspection was announced as this service is small, we wanted to make sure that someone would be available when we visited.
Following the last inspection of May 2017, we asked the service to complete an action plan to show what they would do and by when to improve upon the management of agency staff and quality assurance.
At this inspection, we found that the service had increased the staffing levels so that there were sufficient staff to support people. Agency staff were required to cover unexpected staff absences on rare occasions. The agency staff had received training and senior staff support in order that they could support people to meet their assessed needs. The quality assurance systems had been developed and information from the audits had been used to improve the service and the support provided to people in relation to their assessed needs.
A registered manager was in place and was based at the service central office. At the time of our inspection the registered manager was not working at the service. The service had made the Care Quality Commission aware of this information and during their absence the service was being managed by the divisional director and supported by other senior staff in the organisation. The divisional director is the line manager of the 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.
Senior staff visited the people using the service and the staff they managed regularly and did provide support themselves when the need arose. People looked at ease with staff and told us that the staff were knowledgeable and caring
Each person had a support plan and a risk assessment which identified actions which should be taken to minimise the identified risk. Staff were knowledgeable about the signs of abuse, and the actions that they would take should they have any concerns.
There was a robust recruitment process and staff received an induction, supervision and on-going training. Medicines were safely stored and administered as prescribed. There were regular planned audits of medicines and people’s finances to ensure the records were in agreement with the stock of medicines and peoples personal money.
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 support this practice.
Support plans were in place for each person and focussed upon how the staff would support the person to meet their needs. People were aware of their care plans and had contributed to them. The information provided staff with the information they needed to support people. People’s preferences and choices had been identified in their support plan.
People choose the food and drinks they consumed. Some people were supported by staff to go shopping so that they could select the food and drinks they wished from the shops.
There was a complaints policy and procedure in place. Relatives informed us they were confident any complaint would be listened to and investigated. All people were supported by staff to pursue activities and interests of their choice.
The service staff provided a positive culture of support to the people using the service. Service governance was in place made up of surveys, audits and management plans which were used by the senior staff to plan and deliver the support to the people using the service.