Background to this inspection
Updated
7 March 2019
This unannounced inspection took place on 4 February 2019 and was carried out by one adult social care inspector.
Before the inspection, we reviewed all the information we held about the service including previous inspection reports and notifications received by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A notification is used by registered managers to tell us about important issues and events which have happened within the service. The provider had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, such as what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used this information to help us decide what areas to focus on during our inspection.
During our inspection we spoke with four people living at the home, some of whom had limited verbal communication. Where people were not able to tell us directly, we used a range of observational methods to help us understand how well people related to staff and how they experienced their care.
Throughout the inspection we observed how staff interacted and cared for people across the course of the day. We spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager, and two care staff.
We reviewed the care records of four people and the records of four staff. We examined the provider’s records which demonstrated how people’s care reviews, staff supervisions, appraisals and required training were arranged.
We looked at the provider’s policies and procedures and other records relating to the management of the service, including medicines records, quality assurance audits and staff rotas. We considered how people’s, relatives’ and staff comments were used to drive improvements in the service.
Following the visit, we spoke with four relatives of people who used the service. We wrote to 13 external professionals, including advocates for people, asking for their feedback on the service but received no responses.
Updated
7 March 2019
374, St Helier Avenue provides care and accommodation for up to eight people living with learning disabilities, some with communication difficulties.
At our last inspection in July 2016 we rated the service Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good. There was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.
Relatives told us they felt their family members were safe living at the home and spoke positively about the care provided and the commitment of staff. Staff knew how to protect people if they suspected they were at risk of abuse or harm. Risks to people’s health, safety and wellbeing had been assessed and staff knew how to minimise and manage identified hazards to help keep people safe from harm or injury.
Appropriate staff recruitment processes helped to ensure people were protected. We saw there were enough properly trained and well supported staff to meet people’s needs and staff confirmed they were happy with the training and support they received.
People received their medicines as prescribed and staff knew how to manage medicines safely.
Relatives told us people received effective care. Staff had access to a wide range of training and they were supported with regular and structured supervision.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive ways possible. Policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
Staff had a good understanding of their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). DoLS provides a process to make sure people are only deprived of their liberty in a safe and correct way. The service ensured local authorities had carried out the appropriate assessments for people who might have been deprived of their liberty. Staff supported people to make choices and decisions about their care wherever they had the capacity to do so.
People were supported to have a varied and balanced diet and food that they enjoyed, were consulted about their choice of meals and were enabled to eat and drink well and stay healthy.
Staff supported people to keep healthy and well through regular monitoring of their health and wellbeing.
Relatives told us staff were kind and caring. We saw that staff treated people with dignity, respect and compassion. Staff understood people’s needs and helped them to express their views and wishes wherever possible.
People were encouraged to maintain relationships that were important to them. Relatives told us they were made to feel welcome when they visited the home and that the staff were supportive in enabling people to visit relatives.
Care plans were in place which reflected people’s specific needs and their individual choices. Relatives of people were involved in reviewing their relations’ care plans and we saw people were supported to make decisions about their care and support.
People had access to their local community and could choose to participate in a variety of in-house and community based social activities. Staff encouraged and supported people to be as independent as they could and wanted to be.
People and their relatives were encouraged to give feedback on the service and there was an effective complaints system in place.
People told us they liked the staff and registered manager. Staff told us they felt supported by the good leadership of the senior staff and relatives told us that the registered manager encouraged feedback and sought to develop and improve the service for people.
Staff told us they enjoyed working in a home which encouraged openness and teamwork. Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities and they had a good understanding of the ethos of the service.
Systems were in place to monitor the safety and quality of the service and to gather the views of people about the quality of the service. These measures of monitoring the service has helped to make improvements were necessary.
The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.
Further information is in the detailed findings below.