We carried out a review of the data available to us about Avalon Harrogate Services on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Avalon Harrogate Services, you can give feedback on this service.
Avalon Harrogate Services provides personal care and support to people who have a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder. Some of the people who use the service are also living with dementia. Some people who receive support live in small supported living services which are staffed according to assessed needs. Other people live in a family setting with a main carer. This is called shared lives. The aim of the service is to support people to live independently. The service was supporting 15 people at the time of our inspection. For the purposes of this report the term ‘staff’ refers to supported living workers as well as shared lives carers.
Not everyone using Avalon Harrogate Services 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 consider any wider social care provided.
At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.
A registered manager was 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.
People were supported by staff who understood the risks they faced and how to support them to reduce these. People were protected from harm by staff that recognised the signs of abuse and were confident to raise concerns.
There was enough staff to safely provide care and support. Safe recruitment processes helped to prevent unsuitable staff working with people who needed support. Staff received regular supervision and training which supported them in their roles.
Personalised care plans and risk assessments were in place. The care and support people received was person centred. Staff were kind and treated people with dignity and respect and their independence was promoted. They were sensitive to people's needs regarding equality, diversity and their human rights, as their choices and preferences were respected. People were encouraged and supported to lead full and active lives in their homes and in the community.
People are 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 support this practice.
The service was well-led and there were effective quality assurance systems in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service people received. Feedback systems were in place where the views of people and relatives were sought. People were given information on how to raise a complaint should they choose to do so.
Further information is in the detailed findings below.
This inspection took place on 8 October 2015 and was announced. The last inspection took place in November 2013 when the service was found to be meeting the Regulations.
Avalon Harrogate Services provides personal care and support to people who have a learning disability. Some of the people who use the service are also living with dementia. There are two aspects of the service. Some people who receive support live in small supported living services which are staffed according to assessed needs. Other people live in a family setting with a main carer. This is called shared lives. The aim of the service is to support people to live independently. The service currently provides personal care to seven people in supported living and five people in shared lives. For the purposes of this report the term ‘staff’ refers to supported living workers as well as shared lives carers.
A registered manager was 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.
People told us they felt safe at the service. Staff were confident about how to protect people from harm and what they would do if they had any safeguarding concerns. There were good systems in place to make sure that people were supported to take medicines safely and as prescribed.
Risks to people had been assessed and plans put in place to keep risks to a minimum. An ‘out of hours’ service was in place so that people could contact a member of staff in an emergency.
There were enough staff on duty to make sure people’s needs were met. The provider had robust recruitment procedures to make sure staff had the required skills and were of suitable character and background.
Staff told us they enjoyed working at the service and that there was good team work. Staff were supported through training, regular supervisions and team meetings to help them carry out their roles effectively. Staff were supported by an open and accessible management team.
The manager and staff were aware of the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). DoLS are put in place to protect people where their freedom of movement is restricted. The registered manager had taken appropriate action for those people for whom restricted movement was a concern. Best interest meetings were held where people had limited capacity to make decisions for themselves.
People told us that staff were caring and that their privacy and dignity were respected. Care plans were person centred and showed that individual preferences were taken into account. Care plans gave clear directions to staff about the support people required to have their needs met. People were supported to maintain their health and to access health services if needed.
People’s needs were regularly reviewed and appropriate changes were made to the support people received. People had opportunities to make comments about the service and how it could be improved.
There were effective management arrangements in place. The registered manager had a good oversight of the service and was aware of areas of practice that needed to be improved. There were systems in place to look at the quality of the service provided and action was taken where shortfalls were identified.
However, at that inspection we had identified improvements which were needed to the arrangements in place for the safe administration and recording of medicines. We therefore made a further visit to the service on 29 November 2013. At that visit we met with senior staff in the organisation and discussed the action that had been taken.
We found that people were protected against the risks associated with medicines because the provider had put appropriate arrangements in place to review the systems used to manage medicines. Action which had been taken to address areas for improvement had involved everyone and this was well managed.
We found that the provider safeguarded people who used the service and promoted their safety and welfare.
We found that people were happy with the support they received. One person we spoke with told us 'I am absolutely happy with my support. They have brought me such a long way and it's like having an extended family'. Another person told us 'It makes my life better and it makes me happy'.
We saw that people were asked for consent and given choices and chances to make their own decisions about their support. Staff were appropriately recruited and underwent a detailed induction at the start of their employment. Staffing levels were well managed and closely monitored.
We identified some issues with the way that medication administration was recorded and issues with the way that medication audits were carried out. This meant that it was not possible to ascertain whether medication was being correctly administered.
There were various opportunities for people to give feedback and the quality of the support was monitored in different ways to ensure that it met with the satisfaction of all those using the service. Where areas for improvements were identified, action was taken that involved everyone and this was well managed.
We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people who used the service. We talked to three people who used the service. We also gathered evidence of people's experiences of the service by reviewing care records and other documentation.
People were happy with the service they were receiving. People who used the service, and staff felt that the organisation was focussed on the individual, and that the person was at the centre of everything that happened in the service.
One person who used the service told us "everything is brilliant, it's made my life better in lots of ways'. A staff member told us 'I feel proud to work for Avalon'.
The service was working positively with people, and was thorough in its attention to detail and updating practices wherever possible. The level of involvement was extremely good, and the provider was working at a high standard.