The Care Quality Commission
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Archived: Mid Warwickshire Mencap - 4 Scar Bank

Millers Road, Warwick, Warwickshire, CV34 5DB (01926) 622980

Provided and run by:
Mid Warwickshire Society For Mentally Handicapped Children And Adults

All Inspections

8 May 2014

During a routine inspection

This service was inspected by one inspector who looked at five outcomes to determine whether the service is caring, responsive, safe, effectiveand well led?

Below is a summary of what we found. The summary is based on our findings during the inspection, speaking with people using the service, their relatives, the staff supporting them and from looking at records. If you wish to see the evidence supporting our summary please read the full report.

Is the service safe?

People and relatives we spoke with told us they were satisfied with the care and support provided by staff who worked for the service.

People were involved in planning their care and support which ensured they received the service they required.

The manager was aware of when it would be appropriate to use the Mental Capacity Act to ensure people received care and treatment that was in their best interests.

Is the service effective?

People had full reviews of their care and support needs on an annual basis.

Information in people's care and support plans was in the process of being reviewed with them to make it more user friendly and person centred. In addition to this information, daily schedules were in place to ensure staff had up to date and accurate information about people.

People were involved in planning their support. Where able, they signed their documentation to confirm their agreement with the care and support to be provided.

Is the service caring?

We spoke with six people who used the service and two relatives. The feedback we received demonstrated people were happy with the care and support provided. For example, we were told, "We have nothing but praise for all the staff, I think the care gets better over the years", "I would struggle to find a criticism", "The care and support is consistently good", "I am happy with them", "I don't have any complaints" and "They are nice to me, I like them all."

Is the service responsive?

Systems and processes were in place to monitor and respond to complaints. These clearly recorded the nature of the complaint and the action taken. The provider took steps to ensure that learning took place from complaints received and any future occurrences were minimised.

People told us they felt able to approach their keyworker, senior staff or the manager freely to discuss any concerns or complaints they may have.

Staff held monthly reviews with people to ensure the care and support they received was meeting their needs.

Is the service well led?

There were processes and systems in place to monitor the service provided. The provider used the information gathered through these processes to assess and improve the quality of service for people.

Staff understood their roles and received support and training to ensure that they were competent to provide the care and support to the required standard.

16 July 2013

During a routine inspection

When we visited Mid Warwickshire Mencap (Way Ahead Support Services) we spoke with the manager, an area manager, a team leader and three support workers. We also spoke with three people who used the service and two relatives who had family members using the service.

People and relatives we spoke with told us that they were happy with the service being provided making comments such as, "I'm very happy with my support" and "I'm very happy with what they're doing. The people looking after him now are excellent."

We saw that people had support plans in place. We found that the plans contained person centred information to assist staff with meeting people's care and support needs. We noted that the plans were reviewed regularly with people to ensure they remained current.

We found that robust recruitment processes were in place to ensure that staff employed by the provider were suitable to work with vulnerable people.

We saw that there were processes in place for monitoring and assessing the quality of the service provided for people. Comments made by people as part of this process included, "They take me out shopping and do the things in the book" and "The support that I get good."

We found that confidential information relating to people that used the service and staff was stored securely.

28 March 2012

During an inspection in response to concerns

We visited this service on 28th March 2012 in response to information we had received. We were told that people had experienced errors in the management of their medication on several occasions, which staff were responsible for.

We spoke with the manager, two team leaders and five members of support staff during our visit. We also spoke with the relatives of four people currently using the service.

We saw that records relating to supporting people were clearly constructed and had been subject to regular review. We looked at risk assessments which enabled people to maintain their independence in their home and local community. A relative told us, "if it wasn't for the staff X (family member) would not have such a good quality of life."

We specifically looked at medication records and saw evidence that they were audited on a regular basis by both team leaders and the registered manager. Members of staff were able to describe the protocols in place for responding to medication that people may have forgotten to take, which we were told, was an infrequent event.

The staff we spoke with demonstrated effective understanding of people's needs which was consistent with the care and support records we looked at.

Relatives commented that they had no concerns about the way their family member's care was delivered and had confidence that the service would take prompt action should they raise concerns. We were told, "I am very satisfied."