Background to this inspection
Updated
28 November 2017
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
This inspection took place on 24 October 2017. The inspection was conducted by an adult social care inspector.
The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location is a small care home for adults with learning disabilities who are often out during the day; we needed to be sure that someone would be in.
Before our inspection we reviewed the information we held about the home. This included the Provider Information Return (PIR). A PIR is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
During the inspection, we spent time with three staff who worked at the service, the deputy manager, and the area manager. We observed the care and support for the three people living at the home, and contacted the relative of one person to gain their views. We were unable to contact anyone else. The people living at the home were unable to speak with us.
We looked at the care records for three people using the service, three staff personnel files and records relevant to the quality monitoring of the service.
Updated
28 November 2017
This inspection was announced and took place on 24 October 2017.
The provider was given 48 hours’ notice that we would be coming to inspect. This is because service is small home for people with learning disabilities who are often out during the day and we wanted to be sure that someone would be available.
4 The Stables is registered to provide care and support for four people who have a learning disability. It is owned by Royal Mencap Society, a national organisation who provide a variety of support services to people who have a learning disability. The house has been adapted to accommodate people who have restricted mobility. It is situated in a residential area of Crosby.
At the time of our inspection there were three people living in the home.
There was a registered manager in post, however they were not available at the service during our inspection. The area manager was available, and there was another manager who made themselves available as well as the deputy manager.
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.
Staff we spoke with were clearly able to explain the course of action that they would take if they felt someone was being harmed or abused, and how they would report it, including whistleblowing to external organisations.
Medicines were well recorded and managed for people who required support. Assessments were completed to support people with their medication needs.
Risk assessments were clear, concise and explained the impact of the risk as well as how the staff should support the person to manage it. Risk assessments were regularly reviewed with the input of the people who used the service and their families.
There were enough suitably trained staff to meet their individual care needs. Staff were only appointed after a thorough recruitment process. Staff were available to support people to go on trips or visits within the local and wider community and attend medical appointments.
The deputy manager and the staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and associated legislation and had taken appropriate steps to ensure people exercised choice where possible. Where people did not have capacity, this was documented appropriately and decisions were made in their best interest with the involvement of family members and relevant health care professionals where appropriate. This showed the provider understood and was adhering to the Mental Capacity Act 2005.This is legislation to protect and empower people who may not be able to make their own decisions.
The provider was meeting their requirements as set out in the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). DoLS is part of the Mental Capacity Act (2005).
Care plans with regards to people’s preferred routines and personal preferences were well documented and plainly written to enable staff to gain a good understanding of the person they were supporting. Care plans contained a high level of person centred information. Person centred means the service was tailored around the needs of the person, and not the organisation.
We discussed complaints. There had been no complaints in the home in the last 12 months.
Quality assurance procedures were robust and identified when actions needed to be implemented to drive improvements. We saw that quality assurance procedures were highly organised and processes had been implemented from another internal source to help support the service to continuously improve. We were shown these procedures by the deputy manager during our inspection.
Feedback had been gathered from people who used the service in the form of questionnaires, telephone conversations with families and when family members visited the home.