120 Harrowdene Road

Updated 4 April 2019

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 provider is 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.

This was a comprehensive inspection which took place on 15 November 2018 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice of the inspection because the location is a small supported living service for younger adults who are often out during the day. We needed to be sure that they would be in.

This inspection was carried out by a single inspector.

Before the inspection we reviewed our records about the service, including previous inspection reports, notifications and other information we had received from, or about, the provider.

During our inspection we spoke with two people who used the service, the deputy manager and two members of the support team. We spent time observing care and support being delivered in the communal areas, including interactions between staff members and people who lived at the service. We looked at records, which included two people’s care and support records, three staff records, policies and procedures, medicines records, and other records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 4 April 2019

We conducted an announced inspection of 120 Harrowdene Road 15 November 2018. 120 Harrowdene Road is a supported living service for women with learning disabilities and other associated disabilities, such as autism, mental health needs and cerebral palsy. People using the service live in a shared house with wheelchair accessible accommodation on the ground floor. At the time of this inspection four people were using the service.

At our last inspection of 17 March 2016, we rated the service as Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good. There was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

The service had 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.

Procedures were in place to ensure that people were safe from harm, Personalised risk assessments for people were up to date. Staff members had received training in safeguarding of adults from abuse and understood their roles and responsibilities in ensuring that people were safe.

People’s medicines were managed safely. They were stored and administered appropriately. Accurate records were made when medicines were given. Staff members had received training in the safe administration of medicines. Risk assessments of people's ability to manage their own medicines had taken place and these were reviewed regularly.

People had personalised support plans and risk assessments in place. These were reviewed regularly and updated to reflect any changes in needs. Support plans had been developed in easy to read picture assisted formats. Information about people's cultural, religious and communication needs were included in their plans. People were supported by staff members of the same gender.

People’s support plans and risk assessments included guidance for staff on supporting people’s communication needs. Staff members communicated with people in ways that they understood, using, for example, pictures, objects and gestures along with words where appropriate.

All staff members working at the service had been safely recruited. References and criminal record checks were taken up prior to their appointment. New staff members received an induction to ensure they had the knowledge required to prepare them for their role. All staff members were provided with a range of training sessions which were relevant to their work. This training was regularly refreshed to ensure that staff maintained their skills and knowledge. All staff members had received regular supervision from a manager.

People were supported to eat and drink a healthy range of foods. People told us that they chose the food that they wished to eat and were supported by staff to shop for this,

Support was provided to ensure that people’s health needs were met. Staff at the service liaised regularly with other health and social care professionals.

The service was meeting the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005). People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice. A Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) assessment for one person using the service had been made by the Court of Protection which is the authorising body for this type of service. People were offered choices about what they wanted to do. Two people told us that the service was supporting them to be more independent in their daily lives. Staff members demonstrated that they understood the importance of enabling people to make their own decisions.

Monthly quality monitoring audits and reviews had taken place. People participated in regular meetings to discuss their views about the service. People’s relatives had been asked for their feedback about the support provided. A complaints procedure was in place. People told us that they knew what to do if they were unhappy with the service.