Archived: Eastway Leytonstone

Eastway Leytonstone is a service providing holidays to people who require personal care aged 18 and over. At the time of the inspection 17 people had used the holiday service. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Relatives spoke very positively about how people’s lives had been transformed since joining the service. Staff had an extremely compassionate and caring approach and went out of their way to deliver personalised care.

People experienced care that was unique and responsive to their individual needs and choices. Care focused on providing meaningful activities which promoted people’s physical and emotional wellbeing and enhanced their lives.

Staff were well-informed about people's risks and how to care for them safely. Staff received training in safeguarding adults from harm and had a positive attitude to reporting concerns. The management team regularly reviewed staffing arrangements to ensure there were enough staff with the right skills and experience to care for and support people. People's medicines were managed safely.

People were consistently consulted on all aspects of their care and treated with dignity and respect in a way that truly valued them as individuals.

Staff knew people well and the diverse communication needs of each person.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

The leadership of the service was exceptional. The registered manager supported by their senior

management team had established a person- centred culture amongst the staff team, that consistently delivered high quality care. Staff were extremely motivated and passionate about their role and clear on their responsibilities.

Relatives and visitors expressed confidence that they could raise issues or concerns with any member of staff or the management team and that these would be addressed.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 21 December 2016)

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Eastway Leytonstone provided personal care to people with learning disabilities while they were on holiday. At the time of our inspection they had supported two holidays which 6 people had attended. This was their first inspection.

The service had a 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.

People and their relatives had been involved in the development of the service and the planning to go on holidays. Through the use of person centred planning meetings individual care plans with a high level of personalisation had been created. Group meetings for people going on the holidays had been used to ensure people were involved in making decisions about activities, menu planning and other aspects of the holidays.

Although records clearly showed that people had been involved in the planning of holidays, it was not clearly recorded that people had consented to their care. We have made a recommendation about recording consent and the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

The service had completed robust risk assessments for individual risks and for all group activities. The measures in place were clear for staff to follow and were not overly restrictive of people. Staff were knowledgeable about safeguarding adults from harm and the service had robust processes to ensure that people were protected from abuse.

People had complex health needs and were supported to take their medicines by staff. Records showed this was managed in a safe way. People had comprehensive plans in place regarding their health needs including detailed guidance on how to respond to health emergencies.

Staff had developed positive relationships with the people they supported. Relatives told us the strength of the relationships helped ensure people had a good time on the holidays. Staff knew the people they were supporting well.

People had been supported to take photographs and videos of themselves as a record of their holidays. Staff had supported people to make a holiday diary when they returned home. However, the service had not maintained records of care delivered while on holiday. We have made a recommendation about keeping records of care.

Staff spoke highly of the training provided by the service. Records showed that staff receiving specialist training to assist in the development of their roles. Staff received the supervision and support they needed to perform their role and responsibilities.

Relatives and staff spoke highly of the registered manager and the senior management of the provider. There had been a high level of management support available during the holidays. After the holidays, management evaluated the quality and experience of the holidays and made plans for improvement.