We inspected Beckside Lodge on 30 and 31 August 2016 and the first visit was unannounced. We told the provider we would be returning the following day to complete our inspection. Our last inspection took place on 30 April 2014 and, at that time, we found all of the regulations we looked at were being met.Beckside Lodge is a purpose built home which provides accommodation and personal care for up to 10 people with a learning/physical disability. It is located on Cooper Lane in Bradford and is close to local shops and amenities.
At the time of our visit there were 10 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.
At the time of our inspection the registered manager was on annual leave. We saw staff were committed to providing the same excellent standard of care at all times and the culture was embedded so that senior staff were not reliant on the presence of the registered manager to deliver an outstanding service to people.
The environment at Beckside Lodge had been extremely well planned throughout. There were 10 large single bedrooms with en-suite toilets and showers a large lounge, sensory room, kitchen/diner, a large bathroom and a further kitchen/diner/lounge. This allowed people to find a space to relax in or to be in a more social, lively area. Corridors and doorways were wide which made access to all of the rooms easy for wheelchair users.
People’s bedrooms were highly personalised and other areas had been tastefully decorated and furnished. There was a real sense of ‘home’ which was shared by people who used the service, relatives, staff and visitors.
Staff had been recruited safely and had been well trained. There were enough staff on duty with the skills and knowledge to provide people with the care and support they needed. Staff received regular supervision sessions and felt supported in their roles. The turnover of staff was very low and many of the staff had worked at the service since it opened three years ago. All of the staff we spoke with told us how much they enjoyed working at Beckside Lodge and how rewarding they found their jobs.
People told us they always felt safe at the home. Staff had a good understanding of how to control risks to people’s health, safety and welfare.
People and their relatives had been involved in planning their care and support. Care plans were individualised and staff worked in a very person centred way. They knew each individual well and how they liked to be supported and respected this at all times. Staff understood how people communicated their needs and responded accordingly. Staff supported people to be as independent as possible and this had increased their opportunities and experiences.
The service was exceptionally caring. People told us they liked the staff and found them helpful, kind and caring. Staff knew individuals very well, worked in a very person centred way and had built strong relationships with people. People and /or their relatives also told us staff had worked with individuals to enable them become more independent. The efforts of staff to support people to become more independent had transformed their opportunities to access the community.
We also found people were having brilliant opportunities to attend a variety of activities, take holidays, make new friends and to participate in the local and wider community. This was giving people new experiences and they were finding new things to do which they enjoyed and enabled them to develop new skills and lead fulfilled lives.
We found people had access to healthcare services and these were accessed in a timely way to make sure people’s health care needs were met. The medication system was managed safely and people received their medicines at the right times.
People told us meals were good and they had a take away every Friday night. We saw the menus provided both choice and variety.
We found the service was meeting the legal requirements relating to Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).
The registered manager provided strong leadership and was held in unanimously high regard by people who used the service, relatives and staff. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. When areas for improvement were identified action was taken to address the shortfalls. People using the service were asked for their views and these were acted upon. This meant people had a real say about how the service was run.