Archived: Bredon Respite Service

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated Good.

The service met all relevant fundamental standards.

A registered manager was 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.

The care and support provided at Bredon Respite Service was responsive and demonstrated a high standard in relation to assessment, planning and review. It was clear from care records and discussions with people that their care needs were met in an extremely flexible and personalised way.

Care records showed that people’s needs were assessed prior to accessing the service by trained staff. Staff completed visits to people’s homes to meet them and their relatives. They recorded important information about the person’s needs, preferences and routines in detail.

Information regarding people’s needs and preferences was gathered and recorded in accordance with best-practice approaches for person-centred planning. We saw evidence that different person-centred planning styles were used depending on people’s needs and preferences. Other records contained elements of a variety of person-centred planning styles in one document. This meant that information was captured and presented in a manner which was individualised.

People’s relatives told us that the service was safe and provided examples where people’s personal safety had improved. The service maintained effective systems to safeguard people from abuse. Staff were aware of what to look out for and how to report any concerns. Information about safeguarding was available for staff to access.

Individual risk was fully assessed and reviewed. Positive risk taking was encouraged to improve people’s skills and promote their independence. Environmental risk was managed through regular audits and reviews. The registered manager had acted quickly when issues were identified.

Medicines were safely stored and administered in accordance with best-practice. Staff were trained in administration. The records that we saw indicated that medicines were administered correctly and were subject to regular audit.

The service ensured that staff were trained to a high standard in appropriate subjects. This training was subject to regular review to ensure that staff were equipped to provide effective care and support.

People were supported by staff to maintain their health and wellbeing through access to a wide range of community healthcare services and specialists as required. We saw evidence in care records of appointments with GP’s, opticians and dentists. People had up to date healthcare records and health passports which contained important information for healthcare professionals.

The service operated in accordance with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). It was clear from care records and discussions with people that their consent was always sought in relation to care and treatment.

Relatives told us and we saw that staff treated their family members with kindness and respect. Although the service provided short-term respite care people were still supported to maintain important family relationships and regular contact if they chose to.

People were actively involved in decisions about their care. Staff took time to explain important information and offer choices. This was achieved by talking face to face using simple language to support understanding.

People spoke positively about the management of the service and the approachability of staff. Staff were equally positive about the management of the service, the quality of communication and the support that they received.

The service had a clear vision to provide high-quality, person-centred care. The registered manager, regional managers and the staff that we spoke with were able to articulate this vision and demonstrated it in the provision of care.

Staff and the registered manager clearly understood their roles and responsibilities. The registered manager demonstrated a mature and transparent approach when issues were raised during the inspection. They were able to provide information and generate appropriate responses and were well supported by the regional managers.

People using the service and staff were actively involved in discussions about the service and were asked to share their views. This was achieved through regular meetings, discussions and surveys.

Further information is in the detailed findings below

The service had a large pictorial activities board which provided a picture of the chosen activity people had chosen for every day during their stay. This provided an easy way to remind people of their choices and helped influence the staff plans and arrangements to cater for individual requests.

Two relatives told us they were very happy with the support and told us of the choices on offer especially with activities. They gave overall positive comments about their support and explained that people could choose what they wanted to do during their stay and that the service was like a 'hotel.' They shared other comments such as: 'We were very impressed' and 'One of the best things that has happened for my relative was to come here, its fabulous.'

People who received support told us they were happy with the staff and the support provided to them. We observed that people being supported were relaxed and happy in the company of staff.

One healthcare professional who had experience of working with people who were being supported at Bredon respite unit was very positive about the support provided by staff. We contacted Halton local authority contracts and monitoring team prior to inspection. They had recently visited the service and found no issues of concern.