This unannounced inspection took place on 20 May 2015. The home provides support for up to three people with acquired brain injuries or neurological conditions. The homes focus is on rehabilitation and people are supported by an integrated care pathway through all stages of the rehabilitation. At the time of the inspection there were two people living at the home.
There was 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 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 cared for by a multi-disciplinary staff team that knew them well and understood their needs and rehabilitation goals. There were robust and effective recruitment processes in place so that people were supported by staff of a suitable character. Staffing numbers were sufficient to meet the needs of the people who used the service and staff received regular and specialised training to meet the needs of the people they supported.
Staff were knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities and had the skills, knowledge and experience required to support people with their care and support needs. Medicines were stored and administered safely. People received their medicines when they needed them.
People were actively involved in decision about their care and support needs There were formal systems in place to assess people’s capacity for decision making under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). People received a detailed assessment of risk relating to their care and staff understood the measures they needed to take to manage and reduce the risks. People felt safe and there were clear lines of reporting safeguarding concerns to appropriate agencies and staff were knowledgeable about safeguarding adults.
Care plans were in place detailing how people wished to be supported and people were involved in making decisions about their care. People participated in a range of activities both in the home and in the community and received the support they needed to help them do this. People were able to choose where they spent their time and what they did.
Staff had good relationships with the people who lived at the home. Staff were aware of how to support people to raise concerns and complaints and the manager learnt from complaints and suggestions and made improvements to the service. The registered manager was visible and accessible. Staff and people living in the home were confident that issues would be addressed and any concerns they had would be listened to.