Ladyslaude Court provides care and support to people in their own homes. The service is provided within a supported living environment, next to another Methodist Homes service within Bedford. At the time of our inspection, care and support was being provided to three people.
The inspection was announced and took place on 15 July 2015.
The service had a registered manager. 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 protected from abuse and felt safe. Staff were knowledgeable about the risks of abuse and reporting procedures.
Risks to people’s safety had been assessed and were detailed clearly within people’s care plans. Staff used these to assist people to remain as independent as possible.
There were appropriate numbers of staff employed to meet people’s needs and provide a flexible service. Safe and effective recruitment practices were followed.
There were suitable arrangements for the safe management of medicines.
Staff received regular training and support to develop their skills and to keep them up-to-date with current practice.
Consent for care was sought by staff on a daily basis and had been recorded in people’s care plans.
We found that, if appropriate, when people lacked capacity to make their own decisions, consent had been obtained in line with the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005.
People’s nutritional needs had been assessed and they were supported to make choices about their food and drink if this was an assessed part of their package of care.
People were supported to attend health appointments when required and to see health and social care professionals as and when needed.
Staff treated people with kindness, respect and compassion and cared for them according to their individual needs.
Care plans were in place detailing how people wished to be supported and people were involved in making decisions about their care.
Staff had a good understanding of people’s needs and preferences and we received positive feedback from relatives about the service provided by staff.
People knew how to make a complaint if they needed to, and were confident that the service would listen to them.
People were encouraged to have their say about how the quality of services could be improved and were positive about the leadership provided by the manager.
We found that a system of audits, and reviews were also used to good effect in monitoring performance and managing risks.
The service benefitted from good leadership and staff were positive in their desire to provide good quality care for people.