All inspections: Tessall Lane - Care Quality Commission

No one knew we would be visiting that day as our inspection was unannounced. The service provided clinical and nursing input, and personal care and support to adults who required assessment and treatment to improve or stabilise a mental health condition. People did not live there long- term.

A 'no new admission policy' had been placed on the service during 2013 by the commissioners due to restructuring. We had been told that the service will probably close by the end of March 2014. As a result only two people received care on the day of our inspection. Plans were being made for both people to be transferred to alternative appropriate care providers.

We met and spoke with both of the people who used the service, four members of staff and a health care professional who provided specialist input to the people who used the service. People we spoke with made positive comments about the care that they received. One person who used the service said, "It is good here. They look after me" and, 'The staff know how to look after me'. A staff member told us, "We provide good care here".

We found that people were treated politely and that their privacy and dignity was maintained. We saw good interactions between people who used the service and staff. We observed that people were very much at ease in the company of staff. We saw that people's needs had been assessed by a range of health care professionals including specialist doctors and the dietician. This meant that action had been taken so that people's health and care needs would be monitored and met.

Staff had received training to help them recognise abuse and inform them of who they should report to if they had a concern.

The service comprised of three separate domestic style houses. We looked at parts of two of the three houses and found that the premises were warm, clean and adequately safe .

We determined that staffing levels were adequate to ensure that people's needs were met and that they were safe.

We found that some systems had been used to monitor how the service had been run to benefit the people that lived there.

We visited Tessall Lane on the 7 July 2011 as part of a scheduled review of compliance. We identified some concerns about the quality of the care; support and treatment of people using the service were receiving.

We followed up our concerns by visiting the service again on the 11 November 2011 to review the experiences and quality of care, and ensure that the improvements had been put into practice. During this visit, we talked with some people living at the home, and asked staff about people's needs. We also looked at people's care plans. An expert by experience joined us on this visit. Experts by experience', are people who have experience of using services; either first hand or as a family carer and so have a better understanding of how the needs of people could be met. This helped us is get a clearer picture of what it is like to use the service.

A mental health act commissioner was also present at the visit to the service on the 11 November 2011. The mental health act commissioner focuses upon the care, treatment and support for people who are detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. The mental health act commissioner produces their own findings of the visit to the service within a separate report which has been sent to the provider.

People using the service that we spoke with told us they were happy with the quality of care and support they received. In particular, people told us that they were able to make there own choices and follow their own aspirations. Comments made by people included, 'Yes staff do respect our privacy my likes and dislikes, I make my own choices' and 'I am involved in planning my management plan, I wanted to go to college, they chose my subjects but I disagreed with them and chose my own subjects, I chose food hygiene, computer course, flower arranging.'

Two people using the service showed us around two of the three houses which make up the service. People told us that they were generally happy with their rooms. We observed that personal items in people's rooms reflected their interests, such as, pictures, DVD's and music. We were also told that people's choices were reflected in their rooms and this was confirmed by one person using the service who told us that they did not want a light shade.

We were told by people using the service who we spoke with that they were well aware of how to make their views known and how to raise any complaints about their care and support. For example, people told us that they would use the complaints policy, tell a staff member, go to qualified person, manager, doctor and or tell their family,

Archived: Tessall Lane

All Inspections

11 March 2014

During a routine inspection

11 November 2011

During an inspection looking at part of the service