Southside Partnership - Ambleside Avenue

Updated 19 March 2020

The inspection

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

Inspection team

One inspector carried out this inspection.

Service and service type

Southside Partnership – Ambleside Avenue is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. A Housing Association (landlord) owned the building and as the landlord were responsible for its maintenance.

The service had a manager registered with the CQC. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This one-day inspection was unannounced.

What we did

Before our inspection, we reviewed all the key information providers are required to send us about their service, including statutory notifications and our Provider Information Return (PIR). This provides us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make, which helps us plan our inspection.

During the inspection we spoke with two people the service supported. We also talked in-person with various managers and staff who worked at the care home including the registered manager, deputy manager and two support workers. We also looked at a range of records that included three people’s care plans, multiple medicine administration record sheets and staff files in relation to their recruitment, training and supervision. A variety of other records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also read.

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

After the inspection we received email feedback from four community health care professionals who shared their experiences of working with this service.

Updated 19 March 2020

About the service

Southside Partnership – Ambleside Avenue is a residential care home that can provide personal care and support to up to six people with learning disabilities or autism. At the time of our inspection six people were using the service. Most people currently using the service also had physical disabilities.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

People’s experience of using this service

People we spoke with told us they were happy living at Ambleside Avenue and with the care and support they received there. A quote we received from one person the service supported summed up how people felt about the care home, ”I’m happy living here and I’m glad I moved in…The staff are lovely and look after me like my own family.”

People nearing the end of their life received compassionate and supportive care from staff, although they had not received any formal end of life care training. We recommended the provider finds out more about end of life care training for staff, based on current best practice.

The service was safe. There were systems and processes to protect people from the risk of abuse. People were cared for by staff who knew how to prevent or manage risk in a person-centred way. This kept people safe, while not restricting their freedom. There were sufficient numbers of staff whose suitability to work with people with learning disabilities had been thoroughly checked. People received their medicines as they were prescribed. There were regular checks to make sure the environment was safe. The care home was kept clean and staff followed relevant national guidelines regarding the infection control and basic food hygiene.

People benefited from being cared for and supported by staff who were well-trained and supported. 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. Staff understood people’s health needs and promoted good outcomes and quality of life for people. People continued to be supported to stay healthy and well and have access to the relevant community health care professionals. The home environment was set up in an innovative way that promoted people’s independence and reflected their individual needs and preferences.

People received care and support from staff who were kind, empathetic and respectful. Staff took the time to get to know people well and understand their preferences and wishes. People were treated equally and had their human rights and diversity respected, including their spiritual and cultural needs and wishes. Staff used different methods to support people to express their views and make choices about their care, depending on how people communicated and what worked best for them. People were encouraged and supported to develop their independent living skills.

People received person-centred care that focused on what was most important to them and took into account their diverse needs and wishes. People were involved in reviewing care plans regularly to keep them up to date. Managers and staff understood the Accessible Information Standard and ensured people were given information in a way they could easily understand. People had opportunities to take part in a variety of in-house and community based social activities that were meaningful to them and tailored to their interests and abilities. Staff supported people to maintain relationships that were important to them. The provider dealt with people’s complaints in a thorough, prompt and fair way.

People benefited from being supported in a service that was well-led and managed. The service had an open, inclusive and person-centred culture. There was a robust governance system with good oversight from the provider to make sure the service continued to provide a high standard of care and support to people. The provider consulted people, their relatives, community health care professionals and staff as part of their ongoing programme of assessing the quality of the service and making improvements. When things did go wrong, there were systems to learn lessons from this and prevent similar incidents from reoccurring. The provider worked holistically in close partnership with other health and social care professionals and specialists to plan and deliver positive outcomes for people.

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

Rating at the last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 15 May 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

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