Archived: The Bungalows, Chebsey Close

We saw natural and relaxed conversations and interactions between staff and people. We saw that people responded well to staff, who were sensitive and caring in the support they provided.

People's day to day care and treatment had been reviewed and planned to maintain their safety and welfare. People were being helped to move to their new home, as part of the closure of Chebsey Close. The trust was working in people's best interests to ensure that any planned move was the right move for them and happened at the right time. One family member told us, "It will be a difficult time for us all but have some control and the staff are doing all they can to make sure XX is ready and supported even after they have gone."

We spoke with nine members of staff during our inspection. The staff had mixed views on how well they were able to prepare people for their move to a new home or service. Most staff felt that they were listened to and that the trust was working in people's best interest. One member of staff said, 'As far as I'm concerned the transition is being handled well.'

The reliability of records and information had improved. Training on record keeping had been provided and standards for record keeping had been agreed with staff to follow.

The trust had made changes to ensure that managers were visible and accessible. This included the appointment of a new service manager. The manager was based at the service and was taking responsibility for ensuring that the changes required took place and that care was being provided in the right way. There was an improvement plan in place to support the on-going delivery of safe and effective care.

We spoke with six members of staff during our inspection, who all told us they were feeling supported by their unit leaders and the new manager. One member of staff told us, 'Staff have a clearer voice.'

The training and development of staff had been prioritised to ensure staff skills and knowledge was up to date and ensured they were familiar with important areas of practice, relevant to looking after people living at Chebsey Close. The planning of staff had been reviewed to ensure that there was always enough of the right staff on duty to meet people's needs.

Records and information were still not reliable. There were examples where the general completeness and accuracy of records relating to people's day to day impacted on the quality of the information used to plan and review people's care and treatment.

We spent time observing how people were treated and how care staff responded to people needing assistance. We found a genuinely compassionate and caring team of staff were looking after people in Chebsey Close.

The provider did not adequately monitor the environment of care at Chebsey Close to ensure that the service continued to meet the needs of people. The programme of training, supervision and support for staff at the service did not enable staff to maintain their clinical practice and ensure the provision of safe, quality care for everyone living in the service.

All of the staff we spoke with had concerns with staffing levels. There had been a review of planned staffing levels to ensure they remained sufficient to meet patients' needs but it was not clear what information had been used in this review. We identified times where minimum staffing levels were not complied with.

Records and information was not always reliable. There were examples where the general completeness and accuracy of records relating to people's day to day care and the management of the service was poor.