Archived: The Old Barn

Updated 28 July 2016

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 registered persons were 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.

Before our inspection visit to the service, we reviewed notifications of incidents that the registered manager had sent us in the preceding twelve months. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.

We visited the service on 15 April. The inspection was announced and carried out by one inspector. The provider was given 24 hours’ notice because the location was a domiciliary care agency and we wanted to ensure there was someone free to assist us with the inspection.

During the inspection we spoke with the relatives of two people who used the service to obtain their views about how well the service was meeting people’s needs. We spoke with the registered manager and two members of staff.

We viewed the care records for two people who used the service. We also looked at records that related to the management of the service. These included staff training records, quality auditing systems, some health and safety records and minutes of meetings.

Updated 28 July 2016

The inspection took place on 13 April 2016 and was announced.

The Old Barn is a domiciliary care service that provides support to adults with autistic spectrum disorder and learning disabilities.

The service provides outreach support for people, in order for them to access the community from their own homes. The service provides care and support for people during daytime hours.

At the time of our inspection the service was providing outreach support and care for two people.

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. There was a registered manager, however, they were no longer managing the service on a day to day basis. A new manager had been managing the service since February 2016. They were yet to apply for registration with us. We have referred to this person as the manager throughout this report.

Staff had a good understanding of safeguarding and knew what constituted abuse. Staff knew how to keep people safe and reported any issues of concern appropriately. Risk assessments were clear and detailed and reviewed regularly. Staff acted in accordance with the guidance and protocols that were in place, to help reduce the risks for people.

Staffing levels were sufficient to meet people’s needs appropriately. The staff on duty had the skills and knowledge to support people effectively and meet their needs in a timely manner. Appropriate and safe recruitment practices were followed, to ensure staff were suitable to work with people in a care environment. Staff received support from the manager.

People and their families were involved in planning and reviewing their own care and staff appropriately supported people, when necessary, to make informed choices for themselves. The staff were kind, caring and compassionate. People were treated with dignity and respect and their privacy was upheld. People were also supported to do as much for themselves as possible, in order to enhance and maintain their independence. People were able to make their own decisions and choices as much as possible

Record keeping and management systems were in good order, with effective auditing and follow up procedures in place for incidents and accidents.