3 August 2016
During a routine inspection
Cherre Villa provides accommodation with personal care for up to three people with learning disabilities. It does not provide nursing care. At the time of our visit two people were living at the home.
Cherre Villa is a large semi-detached home in a residential area in Leicester. All the bedrooms are situated on the first floor and communal areas are located on the ground floor. There is a sitting room and large kitchen with a dining area. The sitting room is designed so it provides a space where people can sit and watch television or listen to music.
At our last comprehensive inspection of this service January 2014, we found the provider had met all of their legal requirements.
The home had an established registered manager who was also the provider. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. We refer to them as the manager throughout this report.
We found staff were available at the times people needed them to support people safely and at the times they preferred. Recruitment procedures made sure staff were of a suitable character to care for people safely at the home.
People and relatives told us they felt people were safe at Cherre Villa. The manager and staff understood how to protect people they supported from abuse; however correct procedures were not consistently followed to report concerns. The manager addressed this immediately during our visit. Staff followed people’s individual risk assessments to ensure they minimised any identified risks to people’s health and social care.
Medicines were stored and administered safely, and people mostly received their medicines as prescribed. Audits were carried out of medicines to ensure they were managed in line with good practice guidelines, however, some records of administration were not consistently maintained. People were supported to attend health care appointments when they needed to maintain their health and wellbeing.
Staff were kind and supportive to people’s needs and people’s privacy and dignity was respected. People were encouraged to be independent as much as possible in assisting with tasks around the home and shopping.
People received a nutritious diet, had a choice of food, and were encouraged to have enough to drink. People received care and support which was tailored to their individual needs. They enjoyed the food provided, and helped with meal planning, preparation and cooking.
The management and staff teams understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), and supported people in line with these principles. People were supported to make everyday decisions themselves, which helped them to maintain their independence. Where people were not able to make decisions, relatives and healthcare professionals were consulted for their advice and input.
People were supported to pursue their hobbies and interests both within and outside the home. Activities were arranged according to people’s individual preferences, needs and abilities and staff were keen to explore a variety of new activities for people. People who lived at Cherre Villa were encouraged to maintain links with friends and family who visited them at the home.
People and relatives knew how to make a formal complaint and were able to discuss any concerns they had with staff and the manager. Staff supported people living at the home when they identified they were unhappy about something. The provider obtained the views of people by way of regular meetings and customer surveys. Relatives were kept updated about changes to the service by the manager.
Staff felt the management team were supportive and promoted an open culture within the home. Staff were able to discuss their own development and best practice in supervision sessions and during regular team meetings. A programme of training and induction provided staff with the skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs.
The staff felt well supported by the provider and management team who visited regularly and their views and ideas were encouraged on how to improve the service.
The provider carried out regular audits to check the quality of care people received. Provider audits by the care coordinator and area operations manager were conducted regularly to continually monitor and improve the quality of the service.