Autism Care UK (Bedford) Also known as Larchwood House

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

Well-led – this means we looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture.

At our last inspection we rated this key question Requires improvement. At this inspection the rating has changed to Good. This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

Governance measures and audits were effective in monitoring the quality of the service and implementing and making improvements in other areas where necessary. There was a positive culture at the service. People were happy with their support and enjoyed living at the service and following their past times. Staff enjoyed working at the service and felt well supported. There had been a lot of improvements at the service since our last inspection.

This service scored 71 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider had a shared vision, strategy and culture. The culture at the service was positive. Staff understood their main role was to support people to have the best experiences possible. The management team had clear visions and a direction for the service and shared this with the staff team. The service felt homely, and people were happy and relaxed being supported by the staff team. Staff respected the service as people’s home and were led by people as to how they wanted to be supported and how they wanted to spend their time. People were supported to take positive risks, follow their past times and leave the service when they chose to do so. People’s comments included, ‘‘I love being here and it is the best place for me. I can relax and chill here.’’ And ‘‘This is my favourite place to live. It is two thumbs up from me.’’ A relative said, ‘‘All the staff are lovely, and they want what is best for [family member]. The main thing is the quality of care and staff do this really well.’’

The provider had inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty. Staff told us the management team were approachable and included them in discussion about the service and how best to support people. The management team were capable in their job roles and had a good oversight of the service. They understood their regulatory responsibilities and took action to improve where necessary. The management team were a part of the staff team and were very visible at the service making sure they spent time with people and the staff team. This helped them to understand the way staff supported people and identify any areas they could support with further. One person said, ‘‘I always see [deputy manager] walking about and they come and ask me how I am all the time.’’ Another person was seen comfortable entering the offices at the service to spend time with the management team. This visibly meant a lot to the person.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. There was a complaint and speaking up policy in place at the service. Where people had raised concerns in the past these had been looked in to and addressed promptly. Relatives told us they knew how to raise concerns but had no reason to do so. Staff told us they knew how to raise concerns and felt comfortable and confident in speaking up at the service. People were given easy to understand information about who they could speak with if they were worried about the service or wanted to talk about anything. They were also encouraged to feed back about the service in monthly meetings with staff members. One person said, ‘‘Everything is fine, but I would tell the staff if there were any problems.’’ A relative told us, ‘‘In the past I have raised [issue], and this was dealt with quickly. I have no problems speaking up.’’

The provider valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them. Staff told us they enjoyed working at the service and felt well supported by the management team. The provider supported their equality and wellbeing by offering preferred working patterns and discussing their job roles with them regularly. The providers recruitment process was fair and equitable.

The provider did not always have clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability or good governance. Some aspects of environmental safety at the service had been reported to the provider and needed actioning. However, this was not actioned in a timely manner. The provider addressed these during our inspection however we could not be assured this would have happened promptly had it not been for our inspection.

However, audits and governance measures at the service were effective and the management team had a good oversight of risk and the quality of people’s care and support. This covered areas such as medicines, improvements to the service, people’s experiences and staff training and supervision. One relative said, ‘‘I think [deputy manager] does a fantastic job. They know the service inside and out and always do what they can to improve things.’’

The provider understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people. They shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement. The management and staff team had good working relationships with partners such as health professionals and local authorities. Staff supported people to be a part of their community and follow their interests and past times. People went shopping, went to work and attended local establishments such as restaurants, bowling and other areas of interest on a regular basis. One person said, ‘‘Staff know what I like to do, and I go out all the time. I can chill and relax at home too if I do not fancy going out.’’ Another person happily showed us what they had bought at a local shop during their visit.

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement. The management team had improvement plans in place based on findings from internal and external audits and findings. Actions on improvement plans were monitored to help make sure improvements were benefitting people using the service. Staff told us they were involved in discussions and meeting about the service and their feedback about how to improve the service was listened to and taken seriously. The findings at this inspection showed there had been improvements at the service since our last inspection. People were happy with their support and relatives told us they felt the service had and continued to improve. One person said, ‘‘Staff help me depending on what I want to do. It’s great.’’ A relative told us, ‘‘I would say over the last year things have been a lot better at the service. Not just things like decorating and improving the building but also in how [family member] has been supported. They are always busy and seem very happy. They are always keen to return to the service after visiting us which we think is a really good sign.’’