Archived: Ahava

Ahava is a care home which is registered to provide care (without nursing) for up to ten people with a learning disability. The home is a large detached building situated on a village style development together with other similar care homes run by the provider. It is situated some distance from local amenities and public transport. Four people live in self-contained flats. One flat is occupied by two people. At the time of the inspection there were seven people living in the care home. Three of the people needed care and support from staff at all times whilst four others were more independent and received support according to their needs.

The manager had recently received their certificate of registration. 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 recruitment and selection process ensured people were supported by staff of good character. There was a sufficient amount of qualified and trained staff to meet people’s needs safely. Staff knew how to recognise and report any concerns they had about the care and welfare of people to protect them from abuse.

People were provided with effective care from a dedicated staff team who had received support through supervision, staff meetings and training. Their care plans detailed how they wanted their needs to be met. Risk assessments identified risks associated with personal and specific behavioural and/or health related issues. They helped to promote people’s independence whilst minimising the risks. Staff treated people with kindness and respect and had regular contact with people’s families to make sure they were fully informed about the care and support their relative received.

The service had taken the necessary action to ensure they were working in a way which recognised and maintained people’s rights. They understood the relevance of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and consent issues which related to the people in their care.

Staff were supported to receive the training and development they needed to care for and support people’s individual needs. People received good quality care. The provider had a system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received. This was generally undertaken by care home managers through internal audits, through care reviews and requesting feedback from people and their representatives.

We looked at support plans and found that people's health and welfare needs had been assessed. We observed the support people received reflected the assessments.

The home was adequately maintained and was clean and tidy. There was a programme of maintenance which included undertaking annual safety checks on gas and electrical appliances and fire equipment. However we found one fire extinguisher did not appear to have been inspected during the previous three years.

We found the provider had an effective system in place for monitoring the quality of the service. This included obtaining the views of people who used the service.

We found that peoples health and welfare needs were being met and that support given was individualised and person centred.

Evidence informed us that systems were in place to protect people from possible abuse and that staff had an awareness of safeguarding issues.

We found that staff received appropriate training and support to be able to meet the needs of people living in the home.

We found the quality of the service was being monitored and evidence indicated that concerns were promptly acted upon. Systems were in place to meet peoples health, welfare and safety needs.