Archived: Fleetwood House

About the service

Fleetwood House is a residential care home, The home was bigger than most domestic style properties. It was registered for the support of up to 11 people. 11 people were living in the home at the time of our inspection. This is larger than current best practice guidance for people with learning disabilities and/or autism. However. the size of the service having a negative impact on people was mitigated because the home was in keeping with the residential area it was located in. Staff did not wear anything that suggested they were care staff when coming and going with people.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were supported by committed staff who liked and valued them. The staff were kind and respectful. Staff understood how people communicated. Some of the staff team knew people well and people had built strong and warm relationships with these staff. Newer staff were working to build trusting relationships. People were relaxed in the company of staff.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Where this posed challenges to the staff they worked with people and other professionals to seek solutions. Staff respected people’s choices and preferences.

The service worked to mitigate the impact on people of group living. Staff worked to apply the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

The outcomes for the people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People’s support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

A number of staffing vacancies had had an impact on people undertaking activities they enjoyed. This was being addressed as new staff developed the knowledge and skills needed to support people safely outside the home. Supporting people to fill their time with things they found enjoyable and/or meaningful was a priority for the staff team.

The staff understood their responsibilities and how to protect people from abuse. Staff understood the risks people faced and the support they needed to reduce these risks.

People had access to healthcare when they needed it. Complex and ongoing health care needs were supported. People were supported to eat and drink safely and their preferences were reflected in the food they shopped for and cooked.

The staff team were well led by a senior team committed to promoting person centred care. There were systems in place, and in development, to monitor standards and plan continual improvements.

Staff felt supported by the management team. All staff shared an ethos of personalised care and support to enable people to live the life they chose to live. Staff were happy in their jobs and wanted to provide the best care they could.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published May 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

At the last inspection carried out on the 24 November 2014 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

We carried out this inspection as part of our routine schedule of inspections and to check that people were still receiving a good standard of care and support.

People told us they felt safe with staff. Relatives had no concerns about the safety of people. There were policies and procedures regarding the safeguarding of adults and staff knew what action to take if they thought anyone was at risk of potential harm.

Potential risks to people had been identified and assessed appropriately. There were sufficient numbers of staff to support people and safe recruitment practices were followed. Medicines were managed safely.

Staff had received training and there were opportunities for them to study for additional qualifications. All staff training was up-to-date. Team meetings were held and staff had regular communication with each other at handover meetings which took place between each shift.

People were supported to have as much choice and control of their lives as possible. Staff supported people in the least restrictive way and the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

People were supported to have sufficient to eat and drink and to maintain a healthy diet. They had access to healthcare professionals. People’s rooms were decorated in line with their personal preferences.

Staff knew people well and positive, caring relationships had been developed. People were encouraged to express their views and these were respected by the staff who supported them. People were involved in decisions about their care as much as they were able. Their privacy and dignity were respected and promoted. Staff understood how to care for people in a sensitive way.

Care plans provided information about people in a person-centred way. People’s personal preferences and their likes and dislikes were documented so that staff knew how people wished to be supported. There was a variety of activities on offer which people could choose to do. Complaints were dealt with in line with the provider’s complaints procedure.

Weekly and monthly checks were carried out to monitor the quality of the service provided. There were regular staff meetings and feedback was sought on the quality of the service provided. People and staff were able to influence the running of the service and make comments and suggestions about any changes. Regular one to one meetings with staff and people took place. These meetings enabled the registered manager and provider to monitor if people’s needs were being met.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

We observed that people and staff interacted in a relaxed, calm and friendly manner. We observed people being offered choices.

We spoke to two people’s family members and a representative of another person. They told us that they were happy with the care and support provided by the service. A relative told us that the person was, “settled and happy at Fleetwood House”.

We saw people’s individual records and saw that they had been involved in the planning of their support. Staff demonstrated that they knew how care was to be delivered in line with people’s wishes and preferences.

We looked at records relating to staff recruitment. They showed us that the provider had effective recruitment and selection processes in place.

We observed the storage, handling and administration of medication. We saw that there were appropriate arrangements for the management of medicines.

We looked at complaint records and saw that people were supported to make complaints when they were unhappy with aspects of the service. The service had an effective complaints procedure.

We made observations throughout the visit and saw people being offered choices as to what they wanted to eat and one person told us how they had chosen the colour of paint used to decorate their room. Rooms we looked at were personalised.

We saw people being addressed in a respectful manner. We looked at peoples individual support plans and observed that these were discussed with people who used the service and that these discussions were recorded. We saw that monthly audits of the service were completed by the provider ensuring that people who used the service benefit from a service that monitors the quality of care that people received.

Staff told us that they had received training in protecting adults from abuse.and that they felt that they were supported and trained to carry out their roles and meet the needs of people who used the service