Archived: Rydal Avenue

Updated 15 February 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection was carried out on 20 and 27 October 2015 and was announced to ensure that staff and people who used the service were available at the property. The inspection team consisted of one Adult Social Care inspector.

Before we visited the home we checked the information that we held about the service and the service provider. No concerns had been raised with The Care Quality Commission since we completed our last inspection.

During our inspection we spoke with the registered manager and three care staff members and asked them how the young people were supported. We also looked at a care plan for a person who had recently used the service and another for a person who had recently moved into the home. We undertook a tour of the premises.

We looked at a sample of other documentation such as: four staff files showing supervision, training and staff recruitment; medication records; menus; complaint records; activity lists; minutes of meetings; risk assessments; quality assurance audits; policies and procedures and maintenance records.

There was one young adult living in the home at the time of our second visit to the home who we spoke with and we were able to review the care records of this person and the person who had recently left the home. Due to the nature of the needs of people who had used the service, we were not able to fully seek their views about the care and support they received. We were however able to speak on the telephone, with one relative and a health care professional who had been involved with the person who had recently left.

We looked at any notifications received and reviewed any other information we held prior to visiting.

We also invited the local authority safeguarding, quality assurance and commissioning functions to provide us with any information they held about Rydal Avenue.

Updated 15 February 2016

The inspection took place on 20 and 27 October 2015 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice of the inspection because we had visited the property on 17 October 2015 we were unable to gain entry due to there being no one available at the premises. This location was last inspected in April 2014 when it was found to be compliant with all the regulations which apply to a service of this type. There was one person living in the home at the time of our inspection.

Rydal Avenue forms part of Cambian Childcare Limited who are a specialist provider of a wide range of services for children and young adults with learning disabilities or behaviour which challenges. Rydal Avenue provides care and support for up to two young adults. The accommodation is a four bedroomed semi - detached property with a lounge, a large kitchen diner and large gardens to the front and rear.

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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager was also registered as manager for another two other services provided by Cambian Childcare Limited nearby and was supported in his role by a deputy manager

We were told that each young adult living at Rydal Avenue was provided with designated key workers who were suitably skilled experienced and trained to understand the person’s individual needs, inclusive of communication, behaviour and development. We found the registered manager had an excellent understanding of people’s care and support needs and w e found care plans to be detailed and focused on the individual person. Staff also understood how to support people who lacked capacity within the principles and requirements of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.   

We noted the service had a complaints procedure, details of which were included in the service users’ guide. A relative of a person who had previously lived at the home said they were confident that they could raise their opinions and discuss any issues with the registered manager or any other staff member who was on duty.

Cambian Childcare Limited had robust recruitment policies and procedures in place to help ensure staff were suitable to work with vulnerable people. This included standardised application forms, the provision of written references and a structured interview process being undertaken to enable the management of the home to have adequate information before employing staff.

Staff were provided with monthly structured supervision sessions and regular updated training and development courses to assist them to build on their knowledge and skills.

Cambian Childcare Limited had robust systems in place to monitor and review the standards of the services provided at Rydal Avenue. These included reviews with external professionals, staff meetings and handovers and the use of self -assessment tools that looked at safety, management, residents life skills, well -being, environment and nutrition.