Archived: 96 Tomlinson Avenue (Respite Services)

The service provides short-term respite care and support to people with physical disabilities, learning disabilities and/or autistic spectrum conditions. Four people are supported by the service at a time and they had around 31 people who occasionally use the service.

There was a registered manager in post. 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 were risk assessments in place that gave guidance to staff on how risks to people could be minimised. There were systems in place to safeguard people from risk of possible harm. The provider had effective recruitment processes in place and there was sufficient staff to support people safely.

Staff received regular supervision and they had been trained to meet people’s individual needs. They understood their roles and responsibilities to seek people’s consent prior to care being provided. Where people did not have capacity to consent to their care or make decisions about some aspects of their care, this was managed in line with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA).

People were supported by caring, friendly and respectful staff. They were supported to make choices about how they lived their lives. People’s health and wellbeing was promoted, and they were supported to access other health and care services when required.

People’s needs had been assessed, and care plans took account of their individual needs, preferences, and choices. They were supported to pursue their hobbies and interests.

The provider had a formal process for handling complaints and concerns. They encouraged feedback from people who used the service and their relatives, and they acted on the comments received to improve the quality of the service.

The provider’s quality monitoring processes had been used effectively to drive continuous improvements. The manager provided stable leadership and effective support to staff. They also promoted a caring culture within the service.

We considered our inspection findings to answer questions we always ask;

Is the service safe?

Is the service effective?

Is the service caring?

Is the service responsive?

Is the service well-led?

This is a summary of what we found.

Is the service safe?

People were cared for in a safe and well maintained home. We found that the home was cleaned regularly and infection control audits were carried out by the home manager to ensure that people were protected against the risk of infection. Risk assessments had been put in place for people and staff were aware of the risks and how to manage them and protect people who used the service.

Is the service effective?

We observed the care provided to people we saw that people were happy in their surroundings and were able to move about the home freely and were enjoying the activities provided for them. People we spoke with told us that staff "good" and that the care they received was "ok". Staff told us that they felt supported and were able to spend time with people. We saw that the care plans were regularly reviewed and contained detailed information about the person and their needs which meant that staff were kept aware of people's needs and were therefore able to provide the correct care and support.

Is the service caring?

We observed the interaction between staff and people at the service and saw that staff were caring, polite and courteous towards them. Staff were aware of peoples needs and what they enjoyed doing, so were able to offer them activities that they enjoyed. We observed during our inspection that staff listened to people and responded to their requests quickly.

Is the service responsive?

Care plans and risk assessments were reviewed regularly by the manager to ensure that they could respond quickly to any changes in people's care needs. We saw that people's needs were attended to by the staff.

Is the service well-led?

The home had a registered manager in place. We were told that the manager was "very supportive". We saw that the manager was continuously monitoring the effectiveness of the care through audits and supervisions. We found that the manager was aware of people's needs and background.

During our visit we carried out a review of a sample of people's care documentation. We found that each person received an assessment of their needs and these were used to develop support plans of how the service would meet each person's needs. We found that people's needs were met by a competent and knowledgeable staff team who had been selected through the use of effective recruitment processes. We saw the premises was accessible to people who use a wheelchair and those with other mobility issues and was suitably designed and adequately maintained. We found the service carried out regular safety checks and maintained well completed records on those checks.

We found the service had a complaints system in place and people had their complaints responded to appropriately. Information about the complaints procedure was readily available to people who use the service.

We found that people who use the service were given appropriate information and where possible were involved in making decisions about their care. People's needs were assessed and met by a competent staff team. We saw a constant staff presence during our visit and those staff were knowledgeable in such things as protecting people from the risk of abuse. We saw that staff and people who use the service enthusiastically engaged in activities that had been identified as things that people liked doing.

We found that the service had quality monitoring systems in place and people had a variety of methods available for them to share their views and opinions about the service. We noted that where actions to prevent the recurrence of incidents or changes to improve the service were required these were completed.