Archived: Dover Drive Short Stay Service

Dover Drive Short Stay Service is a residential care service that provides short stay services to people with learning disabilities and physical disabilities. This service is currently registered for six people over two adjoining houses, numbers 18 and 20 Dover Drive. However, the provider is in the process of changing this to providing a short stay service to four people in one house, 20 Dover Drive. At the time of inspection two people were using the short service service.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

People's medicines were managed safely and effectively. People had person centred support plans in place. The information was used to personalise support to meet each person’s needs. Risks to people were assessed and appropriate plans were in place to keep people safe.

The provider and registered manager had audits and checks on different aspects of the service in place, for example, health and safety and medicines. These were effective in identifying if there were areas needing to be improved. Incident and accidents were analysed for patterns and trends.

Staff were recruited following safe processes and received appropriate inductions into the service. Staff also received supervisions and attended regular meetings. Feedback from staff we spoke with was all positive and we were told how supportive the registered manager, deputy manager and senior were.

Relatives were happy with the service and they felt people were safe whilst using the service. There were sufficient numbers of staff in place and they understood how to provide people with safe, person centred care and support.

During the inspection we observed warm and comfortable relationships between staff and people using the service. People were encouraged and supported to maintain and improve their independence.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 22 May 2017).

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Why we inspected; This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

CCC Dover Drive is a residential care service that provides short stay services to people with learning disabilities and physical disabilities. People have a set number of allocated nights per year, which they can book throughout the year. The accommodation is within two connecting bungalows. Number 18 has two beds and number 20 has 4 beds. There is an internal door between the two bungalows that can be locked if necessary. The home is a single storey building with suitable access for all the people who use it. It is situated less than a mile from Ellesmere Port town centre. At the time of the visit there were five people using the service.

At the last inspection on 1 December 2014, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

People told us that they were happy with the service provided and that they enjoyed their short stay breaks. They said the staff were kind, caring and helpful. People told us that the food was good. Relatives confirmed that people were safe with the staff and within the service.

People and relatives told us that they had no concerns or complaints about the service. They were aware of and had access to the registered provider’s complaints policy and would speak to staff if they had any concerns.

Care plans were well documented and held good information about the individual person. Risk assessments were in place as needed and were individually tailored to each person’s needs. All documentation was up to date. Medication was administered safely.

People were supported by staff who were knowledgeable about them and who had undertaken sufficient training to meet people’s needs. Staff recruitment was robust and prospective staff undertook appropriate checks prior to starting work at the service. Staff had good supervision and were encouraged to attend meetings.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Staff were aware of the safeguarding policies and procedures and had received training in safeguarding adults.

The environment was well maintained with good décor and was clean.

The registered manager used a range of methods to assess, monitor and improve the service. These included regular audits of the service and staff and service user meetings to seek the views of people about the quality of care being provided.

People’s views were sought with pre and post phone calls being undertaken by the senior team. Also post visit questionnaires were completed to ensure that the stay had been good for people who used the service and any suggestions could be used in the development of the service. A wide range of compliments had been received regarding the service.