Archived: Albany House

Albany House provides accommodation and care for up to six adults with learning disabilities, who also have Autism Spectrum Disorder. At the time of our inspection there were six people using the service, four women and two men.

There are six single occupancy bedrooms, five of which have an en suite bathroom. There is also a separate shower available. There is a communal kitchen, living room and activity room.

There was not a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. The acting manager had been employed at the service since July 2015 and had submitted his application to register with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

There were enough staff working on each shift to support people, however the staff team was relatively new and there were staff vacancies that were impacting on the operation of the service. Staff recruitment checks were completed as required but these were not always sufficiently robust to ensure that staff were suitable to work with people using the service.

Risks to people’s safety were assessed and management plans were in place that helped reduce the risks whilst balancing people’s rights to make their own decisions and medicines were managed safely.

Staff did not received adequate training to ensure that they had the skills and knowledge to meet people’s individual needs. Staff received support through supervision and there was an annual appraisal system in place.

People’s health and nutritional needs were met and people were supported to make choices about what they wanted to do and what they ate. Staff understood their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act and ensured people’s consent was sought for any decisions made about their care and support but best interests assessments were not always recorded.

People told us staff treated them well and we observed positive interactions between staff and people using the service.

People’s needs were assessed and detailed care plans written so that staff knew how to support people. However, these documents were not organised in a way that made them easy to read and understand.

We found that people were supported to take part in a range of activities that met their interests and saw that people were supported to maintain relationships with people who were important to them.

There were gaps in the leadership team that were affecting how the service was run. However, audits were completed to check how the service was operating and we saw that there were plans in place to make improvements.

We have made one recommendations in relation to care planning.

We found breaches of regulations in related to staff training and record keeping in relation to managing behaviour that challenged the service. You can see what action we have told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.

We saw people being treated with warmth and respect, and staff engaging with them as individuals they enjoyed being with. People were provided with a sense belonging and inclusion, and were supported to develop skills and interests in pursuit of their own goals and aspirations. People said in meetings they were happy living at Albany House and that they liked the staff.

We found care was planned to meet the individual's needs and to keep them safe. Arrangements were in place for obtaining consent to care and acting in people's best interests. People were protected from abuse. Recruitment procedures were in place so that people were cared for by suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff. The system for dealing with complaints ensured these concerns were responded to appropriately and that the information was used to improve the service where indicated.