Archived: TLC Care Homes Limited (Summer House)

TLC Care homes Limited (Summer House) provides personal care to people in supported living settings in Westcliffe, Great Dunmow, Saffron Walden, Earls Colne, Basildon, Halstead and Colchester. People using the service have a learning disability and may have a mental health diagnosis. There are two registered managers for this service. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting 21 people.

The service had two registered managers in post, with one covering services in the Mid Essex region and the other covering services in the South Essex region. The registered manager for the South Essex region was also an area manager. We were unable to speak to the registered manager for the Mid Essex region as they were away during our inspection, in their absence the area manager (Mid Essex) and Director of Operations were managing and monitoring service in that region. ‘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 a legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The service was not consistently Well Led. The quality assurance system was not effective because it had not identified the areas of concern. There were no plans in place to demonstrate what action the provider / registered managers were going to take to mitigate risks in relation to the health, safety and welfare of people using the service. Further improvements were required to ensure that the management team had a complete oversight of the management of people’s finances.

There were sufficient numbers of staff on duty to meet the needs of people and keep them safe from potential harm or abuse. People’s health and wellbeing needs were assessed and reviewed to minimise risk to health and wellbeing. The provider had a good management and monitoring structure in place for medication.

People were cared for and supported by staff who had received training to meet their needs. The registered manager had a good understanding of their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. People were supported to eat and drink enough as to ensure they maintained a balanced diet and referrals to health and social care services were made when required.

Staff cared for people in an empathetic and kind manner. Staff had a good understanding of people’s preferences. Staff always worked hard to promote people’s independence through encouraging and supporting people to make informed decisions.

People and their relatives were involved in the planning and review of their care. Care plans were reviewed on a regular basis and when there was a change in people’s care needs. People were supported to follow their interests and participate in social activities. Complaints were responded to in a timely manner.

We found that the care plans were reflective of people's care needs and were assessed to be specific to the care each person required. Where people had specific medical conditions such as epilepsy or a mental health condition staff had received training that ensured people's needs were supported safely. We found that staff had received recent training in safeguarding.

The provider had good arrangements to promote effective performance of the service. People were asked to provide feedback about the care they received and were supported appropriately. Where improvements could be made the manager had a clear plan in place to ensure the improvements were achieved.

We saw that the registered manager showed clear leadership and that all staff were expected to provide a high quality of care to people. The provider ensured that there was a sufficient number of care staff available to meet people's needs for all hours the service was contracted to provide care for.