All inspections: Turning Point - The Poplars

We inspected The Poplars on 21 September 2015 as an unannounced inspection.

The Poplars is registered to provide accommodation for a maximum of four people with a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder. There had been two people living at the home until very recently. There was only one person living there at the time of our inspection visit.

There was a registered manager at the time of our inspection. 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.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. There was always a member of care staff at the home to support the person living there on a one to one basis with their health and care needs. Staff had the support and training they required so their skills were kept up to date.

Staff understood their responsibility to report any concerns they had about people’s wellbeing in accordance with the provider’s safeguarding procedure. Medicines were stored and managed safely. Staff received training and they were regularly assessed to ensure they were competent to give people their medicines.

The provider and registered manager understood their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). This ensured people were looked after in a way that did not inappropriately restrict their freedom.

People were involved in making choices about what food they wanted and staff understood people’s dietary requirements. People were supported to attend regular healthcare appointments and advice was sought when changes in health were identified.

Staff were kind and respectful and took time to understand people’s communication needs. People were supported to maintain relationships with friends and family.

Staff were responsive to people’s social needs and supported people to maintain interests that were important to them. People were involved in planning their care and involved in regular reviews.

The provider completed a number of checks to ensure they provided a good quality service. This ensured the service continuously improved.

When we visited The Poplars we did so unannounced which meant that no one who lived at or worked at the service knew we were coming. During our visit we met the people that lived in the home. We also met and spoke with the manager and three members of staff. Following our visit we spoke by telephone with two people's relatives.

People living in the home had complex needs which meant that they were not able to tell us their experiences. We spent time during our visit observing care to help us understand their experiences.

We saw that people appeared comfortable and relaxed in their surroundings. People appeared happy in the company of the staff and responded to them with smiles and vocalisations. Relatives we spoke with told us they were happy with the care

provided to their family members commenting, "I should be very sad if they moved him somewhere else" and "If I won the euro millions I wouldn't change it."

People had person centred support plans in place that provided information to assist staff with meeting their care and support needs. Staff we spoke with knew people well and were able to tell us about their care and support when we asked.

The home presented as clean and tidy, with procedures in place to reduce the risk of cross infection.

We saw that systems were in place to ensure that medicines were managed appropriately on people's behalf.

We found that people's confidential information was stored securely.

When we visited The Poplars we met with each person using the service. We met and spoke with four members of staff and had telephone discussions with two relatives about the care their family member received at The Poplars.

The people using the service had complex needs which meant they were not able to tell us about their experiences. When we met with them they smiled when we talked about the daily activities. We found that staff understood people's personal needs and ways of communicating those needs. We saw that people were relaxed and at ease with staff and within the home environment.

We spoke to the relatives of two people, who told us ' Staff do a wonderful job. XX does far more than he ever did' and "XX always looks well and happy."

The environment was homely with framed photographs displayed of people enjoying some of the holidays and other activities they did. We saw people's bedrooms were clean, warm and well furnished, which reflected each person's individuality.

Each person had a care plan and these focused on the needs of the person from their point of view. Care plans were written in a way that was easy for people to understand with the use of photographs and symbols. Daily records we looked at told us that people were supported to enjoy a wide range of activities in the local community when they wished.

We read staff recruitment records and found these to be well maintained. We saw that all necessary checks had taken place before a staff member began their employment to be sure people were protected from possible harm.

We found that all records about the care delivery were well detailed, in good order and made available to us promptly when requested.

Archived: Turning Point - The Poplars

All Inspections

21 September 2015

During a routine inspection

4 September 2013

During a routine inspection

18 July 2012

During a routine inspection