Archived: 304-306 Southwell Road East

We found there had been some improvements since we last visited the service on 01 July 2013. We discussed what changes had happened and the on-going work with the deputy manager.

We found that most of the support plans we looked at had been reviewed since we last inspected. There had been amendments to the daily recording document used to record a person's daily activities. We had some concerns that whilst support plans had been reviewed they did not always reflect changes to a person's needs. This could potentially have a negative impact on a person's health care needs.

We also had concerns that there had recently been at least one occasion when there was no support worker on duty who was qualified to administer medication. Whilst assistance was sought from another service this was unsafe.

We saw there had been changes made to how staff were deployed across the two bungalows. Staffing levels had increased to provide three staff on each shift. However, we found the service was using a high proportion of agency staff that were not always deployed appropriately.

We spoke with two relatives about their views. We also spoke with the acting manager and four care workers. We looked at service information, care plan files for four people and did a tour of both buildings.

The provider had taken steps to make sure that people who used the service understood the care and choices available to them. We saw support plans were in easy read language and included pictures to help people who had communication needs to take part in discussions and decisions about their needs.

We saw support plans were person centred, but many we looked at had not been reviewed according to the providers review date. Some support plans lacked detail or clarity about how people's needs should be met.

We looked at the staff rota and found that sometimes people were at risk of not having their support needs met, because there were not always enough staff available.

People were safeguarded against the risk of abuse; we saw the provider had a safeguarding policy and procedure. A relative told us, 'He is safe and well looked after.'

We found staff received relevant training and support to review their practice and development. A relative told us, 'I think the staff are competent and know what they are doing.'