Archived: 3 Wellington Road

Updated 25 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 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 30 April 2015 and was done by two inspectors. We gave the provider 48 hours' notice as the location provides care in people's homes and the registered manager is often out supporting staff. We needed to make sure that someone would be in.

Before the inspection we reviewed the information that we held about the service. This included previous inspection information, safeguarding alerts and statutory notifications about the service such as any incidents that were investigated. A statutory notification is information about important events the provider is required to send us by law. We also spoke with the safeguarding lead at the local authority. This information enabled us to plan our inspection.

During the inspection we spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager, the services' head of care and wellbeing and five care staff, four people who received care and three relatives of people using the service. We reviewed a range of documents including three care files, three staff files including recruitment information, service audits and a range of policies and procedures.

Updated 25 June 2015

This inspection took place on 30 April 2015. At the last inspection in January 2014 the service was meeting the regulations with all of the areas that we looked at.

The service provides personal care for 25 people in their own homes and through supported living services. People who use the service may need support or care due to old age, dementia, learning disability, physical disability or sensory impairment.

The service had 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 a legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were protected from harm and harassment. Staff had a clear understanding of the different types of abuse and knew the correct procedures to follow if they had any concerns about anyone's safety. People had risk assessments that were up to date and reflected their current health and care needs, and actions were taken to respond to any incidents or concerns.

There were enough staff to provide people with safe and effective care. Staff were recruited using a safe recruitment process that made sure they had the appropriate skills required to support people with a range of needs.

People's medicines were managed safely. People were supported wherever possible to manage their own medicines, with support from care staff where required.

Staff were well trained and supported. Staff had up to date training and had access to additional training specific to the needs of people they supported. Staff had regular supervision sessions with their manager and access to additional support when required.

People's consent for care was sought. We saw that people were asked for their consent for care and this was recorded within their care files. Where people did not have the capacity to make a specific decision, this has been assessed and other relatives and professionals were involved in decisions in the person's best interests. The provider operated in accordance with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and associated code of practice.

People's health needs were supported and monitored effectively. People were supported to maintain a healthy and balanced diet, with staff supporting people to shop and cook for themselves wherever possible. Adaptations had been made to support people to feed themselves or could have assistance from care staff when they needed it. People were supported to make and attend appointments with other health professionals, with details of this care recorded in their care files.

Staff had good, caring relationships with people using the service and their relatives. People and their relatives told us that carers knew them well, knew what they liked and provided them with the care they needed. People were involved in decisions about their care and had regular reviews of their care package. People's privacy and dignity was respected by staff. People were supported to maintain their independence and develop skills to care for themselves wherever possible, with prompting and additional support from staff when they needed it.

People's needs were assessed and they had clear and detailed care plans. We saw that people's care plans had a range of information about the person, including their likes and dislikes, interests and preferences with their life histories and backgrounds as well as details of their health and care needs.

The provider had a clear complaints procedure and people's complaints were investigated and responded to within the timescales set out in the complaints policy. People told us they felt confident to complain and give feedback, and that their concerns and complaints would be fully investigated and addressed.

People using the service, their relatives and staff were involved in the development of the service. People's feedback was encouraged and there were regular staff surveys to gather opinions about the service and ideas for improvements. Staff members told us they felt empowered to put forward their suggestions to the registered manager.

There were regular audits of the service to make sure it provided quality care. We saw details of audits of different elements of the service, with clear action plans that were implemented following these audits. We saw improvements to the service following these audits, including improvements to people's care plans and risk assessments.