Archived: Respite Unit for adults with learning disabilities - 32 Kentish Road

32 Kentish Road is Southampton City Council’s respite service for adults with learning disabilities. It is registered to provide accommodation and care to a maximum of eight people at a time. People generally stayed at the service for several nights to a week, but could stay more or less depending on their needs. Respite stays were booked in advance but emergency and short notice stays could be arranged when necessary. Some people using the respite service continued to attend day services during their stay which meant there were less people in the building during the day.

This inspection took place on 9, 10 and 15 November 2016 and was unannounced.

There was a registered manager at the service. 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.

Some care and support was provided without gaining the person’s consent and some people’s privacy was not protected. Issues of concern had not been identified through the use of quality assurance.

People felt safe staying at the service. The staff team had received training in safeguarding adults and were aware of how to follow safeguarding procedures. People had risk assessments in place to ensure every day risks were identified and minimised where possible, whilst still enabling people to do what they wanted to do. People received their medicines as prescribed.

People enjoyed their meals and could choose what they ate. People made decisions about how they spent their time and what support they needed. They chose what activities they took part in and went out with staff support. Staff worked with health care professionals and supported people to see the doctor if necessary. People told us there was enough staff working at the service to support them. New staff had been transferred into the service following a process of induction and shadowing.

Positive caring relationships were developed with people using the service. People’s individual needs were known and their respite breaks were planned to ensure they had an enjoyable stay. Staff ensured they supported people with their personal care in ways which respected their dignity.

Staff knew people well and provided a service which was responsive to their individual needs. There was a complaints procedure in place and people felt able to complain.

The future of the service has remained uncertain as the service is planned for closure. During the inspection we identified concerns which had not been identified through the governance of the service. The provider sought feedback from people using the service and their responses were positive.

We identified breaches of two regulations of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 and made a recommendation with regard to quality assurance and you can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

Staff ensured people were enabled to make choices and give their consent to care and support whenever possible. People told us they got to make their own choices and staff always respected their decisions.

People living at the service and staff knew and got on well with each other. We reviewed care plans for three people at the service and found they were up-to-date and contained essential information to enable staff to meet people's care and welfare needs.

The building and grounds were well laid out and maintained. People were living in an environment that supported their needs and was conducive to their health and well-being.

The provider's recruitment and selection processes ensured all members of staff were suitable, and sufficiently skilled to provide effective care and support to vulnerable people. There were enough members of staff working to make sure people's care and welfare needs were met at all times.

The provider learned from accidents and incidents, and took account of people's complaints and comments to improve the service.

We found there were now effective procedures and systems in place for cleanliness and infection control, and people were cared for in a clean and hygienic environment.

People told us that they were happy at the service, they were supported to do what they wanted to do, and they were involved in decisions made about their care and support.

Support provided was observed to be person-centred, respectful and responsive to individual needs.

We reviewed care plans for three of the four people at the service on the day of inspection and found them to be detailed, up-to-date and person-centred. Staff recognised that care plans were a key part of the overall provision of quality, safe care and support. Staff also demonstrated the importance of gaining personal knowledge of the people in their care and developing positive relationships to be able to support those people effectively.

The service had effective procedures in place for safeguarding and management of medicines, and we observed good practice in these areas.

Staff were positive about the support they received from managers. Inductions were thorough and service-specific, and staff had sufficient training to carry out their roles effectively.

There was a satisfactory complaints process, and an easy-read guide to the process was available to all people using the service.