Archived: Royal Mencap Society - Ashingdon Road

At the last inspection in October 2015 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

A manager was in post and was in the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A registered manager is a person who has registered with CQC 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.

The service was safe. The registered provider’s recruitment procedures ensured that only suitable staff were employed. There were enough staff to help keep people safe, meet their needs and protect them from harm and abuse. Staff understood the procedure they needed to follow if they suspected abuse might be taking place. Risks to people’s health and wellbeing were appropriately assessed, managed and reviewed. There were safe systems in place for receiving, administering and disposing of medicines.

The service was effective. Staff received training to ensure they had the necessary skills and knowledge to care for and support people living at the service. The manager and staff understood their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. People were supported to eat and drink enough and maintain a balanced diet and to access health and social care services when required.

The service was caring. Staff knew people well and were kind and sensitive to their needs. People’s privacy and dignity was respected and maintained. People were supported by staff to be as independent as possible.

The service was responsive. People were involved in the planning and review of their care and support needs. Care plans were person centred and were regularly reviewed. People were actively encouraged and supported by staff to pursue their interests and hobbies; activities were tailored around people’s likes, choices and abilities.

The service was well-led. Staff and relatives spoke positively about the manager who was committed to providing an excellent person centred service, ensuring people had a good quality of life. There were systems in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of the service provided and people living and working in the service had the opportunity to say how they felt about the home and the service it provided.

296 Ashingdon Road provides care and accommodation for up to six people who live with a learning disability. There were five people living at the service at the time of our inspection. The home does not provide nursing care.

A manager was in post and was in the process of registering 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.

The service provided good care and support to people enabling them to live fulfilled and meaningful lives. Records were regularly updated and staff were provided with the information they needed to meet people’s needs.

People were safe. People were cared for by staff that had been recruited and employed after appropriate checks were completed. There were sufficient staff available to support people.

Staff felt valued and supported. Staff underwent sufficient training and had the support and guidance they needed to deliver good care to people.

The manager and staff were able to explain to us what they would do to keep people safe and how they would protect their rights. Staff had been provided with training in safeguarding adults from abuse, Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

The manager and staff had a full understanding of people’s support needs. People were relaxed in the company of staff. Staff demonstrated they knew people well and treated people with dignity and respect. People enjoyed their meals and were supported to maintain their nutritional health.

People who used the service were supported to identify their own interests and pursue them with the assistance of staff. These person centred activities took place within the service as well as in the community.

The service worked well with other professionals to ensure that people's health needs were met. Where appropriate, support and guidance was sought from health care professionals, including people’s GPs and the speech and language therapy team.

The manager had a number of ways of gathering views on the service including using questionnaires and by holding meetings with people and staff.

The manager carried out a number of quality monitoring audits to ensure the service was running effectively. These included audits on care files, medication management and the environment.

The manager demonstrated strong values and a desire to learn and implement best practice and had ongoing plans for improving the service people received.

People had given their consent for the care and treatment that they received. There were systems in place to ensure that people's consent was reviewed on a regular basis. We saw that people had been fully assessed, taking into account their cultural, religious and individual needs. Their support plans had been developed from the information in their assessments. They were person centred and reflected people's individuality, choice and preferences.

People received their medicines safely because staff ordered, received, stored and handled them appropriately. We saw that people's health, safety and welfare needs were met because there were sufficient numbers of qualified, skilled and experienced staff on duty at all times. We saw that there was an effective quality assurance system in place. People received safe, effective and compassionate care from a well led service that responded quickly to their changing needs.

The people who use the service were supported in maintaining their independence. They were involved with staff in the development of their own care plans. The manager and staff actively sought the views of the people who used the service, through regular meetings and discussions.They were given choices as to how they wished to spend their days and could take part in a range of activities within the community. They also arranged support for people to go on day trips and holidays that they had expressed an interest in.