• Care Home
  • Care home

Archived: Choice Support - 6 Bowley Close

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

6 Bowley Close, London, SE19 1SZ (020) 8670 8432

Provided and run by:
Choice Support

Important: The provider of this service changed. See new profile

All Inspections

31 January 2017

During a routine inspection

This inspection took place on 31 January 2017 and was unannounced. Choice Support – 6 Bowley Close is a small residential care home registered to provide care for up to four people who have a learning disability. The service is a bungalow with easy wheelchair access throughout. There were three people living at the service at the time of our inspection.

At the last inspection, on 10 July 2014 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

The service had a registered 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.

People told us they felt safe living at 6 Bowley Close. Staff knew how to protect people from harm and abuse. Staff received on-going safeguarding training and were aware of the correct procedures in reporting suspected abuse. Risks to people’s health, safety and wellbeing was managed safely.

People told us and records confirmed, there were sufficient numbers of staff to meet their needs.

People’s medicines were managed safely and in line with good practice. Staff were aware of the safe management of medicines and how to report any errors.

Staff had a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Acto 2005 (MCA). The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) provides a legal framework for making particular decisions on behalf of people who may lack the mental capacity to do so for themselves. The Act requires that as far as possible people make their own decisions and are helped to do so when needed. When they lack mental capacity to take particular decisions, any made on their behalf must be in their best interests and as least restrictive as possible.

People were encouraged to make decisions and choices about their care and had their choices respected. People’s consent to care and treatment was sought prior to care being delivered.

People were encouraged to maintain a healthy nutritionally balanced diet and had access to sufficient amounts to eat and drink, at times that suited them. People’s health care needs were monitored and maintained; people had access to health care services as and when needed.

People continued to receive care and support from staff that are kind, caring and compassionate. People were encouraged to maintain relationships with people that were important to them. Staff treated people with respect and valued them.

Care plans were person centred and tailored to people’s individual needs. People were encouraged to be involved in the development of their care plans, which were updated regularly to reflect people’s changing needs.

People were encouraged to participate in a wide range of activities of their choice, both in-house and in the local community.

The service had a complaints procedure in place and people felt confident in raising concerns or complaints to staff and the registered manager. Complaints formats were available in different formats in order to ensure they were accessible to everyone.

The service carried out regular audits of the service and areas of improvement identified were actioned in a timely manner. Feedback of the service provision was sought and listened to.

8 July 2014

During a routine inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by Care Quality Commission (CQC) which looks at the overall quality of the service.

Choice Support – 6 Bowley Close is a care home for up to four people with learning disabilities. The previous CQC inspection of the service took place on 28 June 2013 when it was found to meet the required standards in the areas we inspected.

During this inspection we met all three people who use the service. They have all lived in the home for over three years. The current registered manager has been in post since October 2011. 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.

People who use the service were unable to speak to us in detail about their experience of it due to their communication needs. A person’s relative, a local authority social worker and a local authority commissioner gave us their view of the quality of the service. They all told us that the registered manager and the staff group were very caring, knowledgeable, experienced and committed to meeting people’s individual needs. They said that people were very happy in the service because staff communicated well with them and enabled them to follow their choice of interests and develop their skills.

During the inspection each person went out to participate in activities of their choice which they enjoyed. Records confirmed that they regularly did this. We observed that staff followed the service’s guidelines in relation to people’s individual communication needs and treated them with kindness and consideration. People received good support from the service in relation to their health needs because staff had ensured people had access to appropriate advice, assessment and treatment from health professionals.

Staff understood and put into practice the legal requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in relation to people’s decision making. People received appropriate support to understand information and make decisions because staff understood their communication needs. Social care and health professionals and relatives were appropriately involved in making ‘best interests’ decisions when a person lacked the capacity to make a decision. Staff understood the steps to follow in order to comply with the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) should this become necessary.

Staff fully understood their duty to protect people from harm and keep people safe. They knew how to recognise possible abuse or neglect and how to report it. They were aware that they should report to an external agency if their managers did not take effective action. There were plans in place to minimise the risk of harm to each person. They were regularly reviewed to ensure they were up to date. People received their medicines safely as prescribed.

Management arrangements were effective. Staff told us the provider asked for their views about how the service could improve and made regular checks on its quality. Audit reports identified any areas for improvement and there was appropriate follow up to ensure that people experienced a better service. People’s relatives and health and social care professionals were positive about the quality of the service.

27 June 2013

During a routine inspection

We observed that staff treated people they were supporting with kindness and compassion and were responsive to their needs. Staff used their communication skills appropriately to engage with people who were unable to verbalise their wishes.

Individual support agreements were in place for people using the service which addressed their care and support needs.

The service worked in partnership with other providers to ensure people's health, safety and welfare needs were met.

There were appropriate arrangements in place for the safe administration of medicines.

Effective recruitment and selection processes were in place, with appropriate pre-employment checks being carried out.

There was a process for in place for dealing with complaints and this was in an accessible format for people using the service.

17 May 2012

During a routine inspection

We saw that the staff were polite, kind and caring and supported people in making choices about what they wanted to do. They engaged with them in a meaningful and positive way and treated them with respect. There was a calm and relaxed atmosphere at the home on the day of our visit.