Archived: Royal London Society for Blind People - BC

Updated 10 January 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 checked 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 inspection was carried out on 10 December 2018 and was announced. The college was given 48 hours’ notice because we needed to be sure that students would be available to speak with us. One inspector carried out the inspection. Before the inspection we looked at all the information we had about the college. This information included statutory notifications that the provider had sent to CQC. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used this information to help inform our inspection planning.

During the inspection we spoke with two students to gain their views about receiving care. We spoke with the registered manager, the college Principal, two care staff and the provider's speech and language therapist about how the college was being run and what it was like to work there. We looked at three student’s care records, staff recruitment records and records relating to the management of the college such as medicines, staff training, supervision, quality assurance audits and policies and procedures.

Updated 10 January 2019

The Royal London Society for Blind People – BC provides specialist college services for up to five student's aged 18 to 25 who are visually impaired. At the time of our inspection five student's were residing at the college. The Royal London Society for Blind People provides residential care. People in residential care receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

This inspection was carried out on 10 December 2018 and was announced. The college was given 48 hours’ notice because we needed to be sure that student's would be available to speak with us. At our last inspection on 23 May 2016 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good. The college demonstrated they continued to meet the regulations and fundamental standards.

The college 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. They were aware of the legal requirement to display their current CQC rating which was displayed at the college.

Student's said they felt safe and that staff treated them well. Safeguarding adults and children procedures were robust and staff understood how to safeguard students from abuse. Appropriate recruitment checks took place before staff started work and there were sufficient staff to meet student’s needs. Action was taken to assess any risks to student's. Student’s medicines were managed appropriately, and they received their medicines as prescribed by health care professionals. There were system’s in place for monitoring, investigating and learning from incidents and accidents. Staff had received training in infection control and food hygiene, and they were aware of the steps to take to reduce the risk of the spread of infections.

Student’s needs were assessed before they attended the college. Staff had completed training specific to the needs of the student's and they received regular supervision and appraisal. Student's 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. Student's were supported to have a balanced diet and they had access to a GP and other health care professionals when they needed them.

Student's had been consulted about their care and support needs. They were provided with information about the college and they were aware of the services and facilities available to them. Staff treated students in a respectful and dignified manner and they respected their privacy. Student's received personalised care that met their needs. Transition processes were in place that ensured students received consistent, planned, coordinated care and support when moved between different services. Student's were supported to partake in activities that met their needs. Student's knew about the college complaints procedure and said they were confident their complaints would be fully investigated and action taken if necessary.

The provider sought the views of student's through regular meetings and surveys. They recognised the importance of regularly monitoring the quality of the service they provided to student's. Staff said they enjoyed working at the college, they were well supported by the registered manager and there was an out of hours on call system in operation that ensured management support and advice was always available when they needed it.

The registered manager told us that the college would no longer offer a residential provision after July 2019. They said the college’s transition team was working hard to find alternative options for the student's currently attending the college.