12 October 2017
During a routine inspection
A registered manager was in post and was available throughout the 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.
People told us they felt safe living at Dahlia House. Staff were aware of their responsibilities to protect people from avoidable harm. Staff had received adult safeguarding training and had information available of the action required to respond to any safeguarding concerns.
People told us they had no undue restrictions placed upon them and they had freedom to access the community independently when they chose to. Risks associated to people’s needs had been assessed and planned for and were regularly reviewed. The internal and external environment was safe. Health and safety checks were regularly completed and staff had information available of the action required if there was an incident that affected the safe running of the service.
People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff that were competent and knowledgeable about their needs. Staff had a lone working policy and an on-call service to support them. Safe staff recruitment practices were in place and followed.
People were supported to be independent with their medicines as fully as possible. Staff supported and monitored people’s medicines and ensured they were ordered, stored and managed appropriately following best practice guidance.
People were supported by staff that received a planned and structured induction, ongoing training and opportunities to review their work and development needs. Systems were in place to assess staff’s competency and understanding.
The registered manager applied the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivations of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) when required. People were involved as fully as possible in decisions and asked for their consent before support was provided and this was respected.
People told us they received opportunities to choose their meals and were fully involved in the shopping and cooking of meals and snacks. The menu supported people’s nutritional needs and encouraged healthy eating.
People's healthcare needs had been assessed and were regularly monitored. The staff worked with healthcare professionals to ensure they provided an effective and responsive service.
People were positive about the staff that supported them. Staff were kind, caring and respectful and had a person centred approach. Staff and a clear understanding of people's individual needs, routines and what was important to them.
People were involved as fully as possible in their care and support. Regular meetings were had with people to discuss their care and support and the activities they wanted to participate in. This included an annual holiday of their choice. People had information to inform them of independent advocacy services and had been supported to access these services when required.
People were supported to participate in activities, interests and hobbies of their choice. People had access to a rehabilitation programme to support their recovery. Staff promoted people’s independence and people were active citizens of their local community and had grown in confidence and were proud of their achievements.
The provider had checks in place that monitored the quality and safety of the service. These included daily, weekly and monthly audits. The registered manager, provider’s clinical team and rehabilitation support workers, were positive and committed to drive the service forward to deliver a personalised high standard service to the people they supported. The ethos and philosophy of providing rehabilitation was based on evidence based practice, people who used the service were continually at the focus of any new developments providing an open, inclusive and transparent service.