Woodbury Short Stay

Updated 26 April 2019

The inspection:

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.

Inspection team:

The inspection team consisted of one adult social care inspector.

Service and service type:

Woodbury Short Stay is a care home. People who use care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. Woodbury Shared Lives Scheme is a scheme were people are supported by shared lives carers in the carers homes as part of the carers family.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

This was an announced inspection. This was because this is a small service and we needed to be sure that staff were available to support us with this inspection.

What we did:

Before the inspection we reviewed information, we held about the service including notifications the service was required to send us about things happening in the home and at the shared lives scheme. We also contacted the local authority commissioning and safeguarding teams who raised no concerns with us about the service.

In addition, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). Providers are required to send us key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

During the inspection of Woodbury Short Stay service, we spoke as a group with three people who used the service, two relatives of people who used the service, the registered manager, senior support worker, a support worker and a visiting social worker. We visited two shared lives carers at their homes and spoke with a senior support worker and support worker for Woodbury Shared Lives Scheme. We also reviewed care and medication records of six people, and quality and maintenance checks. We observed interactions between staff and people using Woodbury Short Stay and at a visit to a carer’s home.

Updated 26 April 2019

About the service:

Woodbury Short Stay and Shared Lives Scheme provides a short stay service, which included an emergency bed and a shared lives scheme. At the time of this inspection 4 people were living at Woodbury Short Stay and 27 people were being supported by shared lives carers. Some people who are supported by shared lives carers also used Woodbury Short Stay for respite.

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.

People's experience of using this service:

People and staff told us that the new registered manager had energy and enthusiasm and along with the new staff teams was responsible for the significant improvements to the service.

People and relatives using the short stay facilities and carers at the shared lives scheme told us they had noticed an improvement since our last inspection and were happier with the service provided.

A person who used the service had significant involvement in making Woodbury Short Stay more wheelchair friendly and in creating the new garden. Plans were also in place to change the layout of the communal area to increase, space, bring in more daylight and better access to fresh air.

People told us they felt safe and well looked after when they used Woodbury Short Stay. They told the registered manager as part of a quality assurance exercise that they did not like to be called customers. They thought guests was better and this term has been adopted.

The approval panel membership had increased which meant the shared lives scheme could respond more quickly when people needed support in an emergency. We were told that this had happened twice and the placements had been well matched and very successful.

People told us that they looked forward to and enjoyed their visits to Woobury Short Stay. The atmosphere was said to have improved because the staff team were very welcoming and friendly. They enjoyed laughing with each other and we saw relationships in action at this inspection.

People who used the service had access to a private online account. This meant they could see what activities were happening in within the organisation and keep in touch with friends.

People told us there was more to do when they stayed at Woodbury Short Stay such as celebrating events such as the Chinese New Year and preparing for Valentine’s Day. The service was decorated with the arts and crafts they had produced.

People told us there were always staff available to help them at Woodbury Short Stay.

Oversight and record keeping at the Shared Lives Scheme had improved with the service now working in line with placement agreements. This was because permanent staff were now in place to run the service.

The registered manager had appropriate support from the provider to enable them to meet their responsibilities. The service had also sought advice from other local shared lives schemes who supported them to make changes.

The service met the characteristics for a rating of "good" in all the key questions we inspected. Therefore, our overall rating for the service after this inspection was "good".

More information is in the full report.

Rating at last inspection: At the last inspection the service was rated Requires Improvement (August 2017)

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating of the service at the last inspection.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service through information we receive and future inspections.