Archived: The Old Barn

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.

One relative told us, 'has got very complex needs and is difficult to care for. What they do, I forever owe them. I know [name]'s going to be safe with them.'

One person we met and spent time with showed us their person centred plan and indicated they were happy with it. Two people's care records showed that their needs had been fully assessed and the information had been used to form the basis of each person's individual plans of care.

The provider's policy and procedure for safeguarding vulnerable people was up to date and contained comprehensive, clear guidance for staff.

The staff rotas were designed to meet the support needs of the people using the service. One relative told us, 'There are a certain few that work with [name] and know [name] to a tee.'

In respect of staff training, some of the comments we received included: 'We've had issues in the past regarding staff training but this has improved.' And, 'The staff are receptive but I feel that Jeesal should provide more in-depth autism training for the front-line staff. If you don't have good knowledge of autism, it will go wrong!'

Other comments we received from the relatives we spoke with included: 'they listen and take family advice and input', 'they listen to what I say and work well with us.'