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Archived: Thera East Anglia

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

The West House, Alpha Court, Swingbridge Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG31 7XT 0300 303 1281

Provided and run by:
Thera Trust

Important: The provider of this service changed. See new profile

All Inspections

28 November 2017

During a routine inspection

Thera East Anglia is a service that provides care and support to people living in 52 ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live in their own home as independently as possible. It is also a domiciliary care agency, which provides care and support to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to older adults and younger adults. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

People using the service lived in a range of single occupancy houses, houses with two people sharing and multi-occupancy houses shared by up to five people. Houses in multiple occupation are properties where at least three people in more than one household share toilet, bathroom or kitchen facilities. Not everyone using Thera East Anglia receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

We undertook an announced comprehensive inspection of Thera East Anglia between 28 November and 13 December 2017. At the last inspection, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated good

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our visit. 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.

Staff knew how to respond to possible harm and how to reduce risks to people. Lessons were learnt about accidents and incidents and these were shared with staff members to ensure changes were made to staff practise or the environment, to reduce further occurrences. There were enough staff who had been recruited properly to make sure they were suitable to work with people. Medicines were stored and administered safely. Regular cleaning made sure that infection control was maintained.

People were cared for by staff who had received the appropriate training and had the skills and support to carry out their roles. Staff members understood and complied with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. Staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People received a choice of meals, which they liked, and staff supported them to eat and drink. They were referred to health care professionals as needed and staff followed the advice professionals gave them. Adaptations were made to ensure people were safe and able to move around their home as independently as possible.

Staff were caring, kind and treated people with respect. People were listened to and were involved in their care and what they did on a day to day basis. People’s right to privacy was maintained by the actions and care given by staff members.

People’s personal and health care needs were met and care records guided staff in how to do this. There were numerous activities for people to do and take part in and people were able to spend time with their peers and take part in cultural and religious activities. A complaints system was in place and there was information in alternative formats so people knew who to speak with if they had concerns.

Staff worked well together and felt supported by the management team, which promoted a culture for staff to provide person centred care. The provider’s monitoring process looked at systems throughout the service, identified issues and staff took the appropriate action to resolve these. People’s views were sought and changes made if this was needed.

Further information is in the detailed findings below

29 July 2014

During a routine inspection

We carried out a comprehensive inspection of this service 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 was 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 test out new approach to inspecting services.

This was an announced inspection. During the inspection we visited four households where care was being provided, two in Norfolk and two in Cambridgeshire. Thera East Anglia provides personal care to people with a learning disability in their own homes. The service provides support to 70 different locations and to approximately 200 people. We spoke with three people who used the service and with four members of staff during our visits. We also looked at four support plans. We spoke with thirteen sets of relatives by telephone.  When we visited the headquarters we spoke with the registered manager and the service quality director.

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. People told us positive things about the service they received. People and their relatives were very happy with the service.

People were cared for by staff who understood how to keep people safe. Staff had received training which helped them identify risk and keep people safe from harm.  Safe recruitment practices were in place and we observed that these had been followed.  There was usually sufficient staff available. 

The provider acted in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act (2005) (MCA).The provisions of the MCA are used to protect people who might not be able to make informed decisions on their own about the care or treatment they received.

We found that people’s health care needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered

to meet those needs. Staff supported people to access other healthcare professionals such as a dietician and a chiropodist and interventions were recorded.

People were supported to prepare meals and eat and drink enough to keep them healthy. Where people had special dietary requirements we saw that these were provided for. The provider was putting a process in place for assessing people’s nutritional risks.

People had their privacy and dignity  respected

Staff were knowledgeable about people and were aware of people’s preferences and choices.

They had received training and support to help them to meet the needs of the people that they provided care for.

A complaints policy and procedure was in place. People were aware of how to raise concerns and issues.

An arrangement for monitoring quality was in place. The provider included both staff and people who used the service in the quality monitoring of the service. Because staff worked in people’s homes across a wide geographical area the provider had a structure in place to ensure that staff were properly supported.

24 February and 4 March 2014

During a routine inspection

Prior to the inspection we reviewed all the information we had received from the provider. We visited four supported living houses. We spoke with seven people who used the service to gain their views and experiences. We also used observation to help us understand the experiences of a further eight people using the service, because they had communication needs, which meant they were not able to tell us their experience. We looked at eight people's support records.

We also visited the provider's office to look at service records and information. Over the course of the inspection we spoke with the registered manager, the personal assistant (PA) for the provider, three community support leaders, two team leaders and six support workers.

We found people's needs had been assessed and staff had clear guidance and information available instructing them how to meet people's needs.

People who used the service told us they were happy with the support provided. Comments included, 'I have lived here for over ten years and I am very happy. I have a keyworker and we discuss my support plan and make changes when needed.'

Support workers received appropriate training and support. The provider had internal quality, monitoring and audit systems in place.

26, 27 September 2012

During a routine inspection

People were involved in planning the way staff supported and cared for them. One person said, 'They (staff) knock on my door to ask if they can come in, which I like. I choose all the things I want to do at my review.'

The people we spoke with talked positively about the staff that supported them. They told us they felt confident that staff had the right skills and experience in order to support them in the way they had chosen.

One person told us, 'I know my own mind but I like it that my staff are in my circle of support with my family. I do loads of things and they (staff) help me do them.'

We found that staff were provided with training and support to enable them to do their job safely and they were given, and encouraged to give regular feedback to the management team on how well the organisation was doing.

We also found that people felt confident taking any suggestions or concerns to the manager or any of the staff team.

A relative of one person we spoke with told us, 'If we think staff are doing something wrong we sit down and discuss it. We give and receive good feedback and we work together as one team.'

12 August 2012

During an inspection in response to concerns

We spoke with one person who uses the service who told us that they, "Got on well with the staff" and they were satisfied with the support and help that they received from staff. We observed people receiving support during our visit and noted that interactions with staff were positive, kind and respectful.

We spoke with the relatives of a person using the service. They were generally positive about the support that was provided by carers and did not raise any major concerns. However, they had observed that some staff members seemed to lack motivation and appeared disinterested in their work at times.

People we spoke with told us that there enough staff to provide the support that they required throughout the day and we observed staff busily engaged with people to ensure that their support needs were being met.