Archived: Venner Avenue

Updated 21 August 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This was a comprehensive inspection. The inspection took place on 17 and 18 April 2018 and was unannounced. One inspector undertook the inspection.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the PIR, previous inspection reports and notifications we had been sent by the provider. A notification is information about important events, which the service is required to send us by law.

We engaged with three people, who communicated with us verbally in a limited way. We were unable to have coherent conversations with all people living at the home due to their learning disabilities. We observed care and support being delivered in communal areas of the home. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We spoke with three staff, the provider’s group manager, the provider’s service manager and the registered manager. We spoke with one family member and two external professionals. We looked at care plans and associated records for four people, staff duty records, staffing records of three staff, records of accidents and incidents, policies and procedures and quality assurance records.

The home was last inspected in December 2015 when it was rated as Good.

Updated 21 August 2018

Venner Avenue is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. Venner Avenue is a is a local authority residential care home which provides accommodation for up to four people with learning disabilities and Autism who need support with their personal care. At the time of our inspection there were four people living in the home.

The home was a single floor building with the bedroom accommodation located around the main living areas. There was one main bathroom available to people. There were two communal areas in the home, which were a kitchen/dining room and a lounge.

The home 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.

At our last inspection, we rated the service good. At inspection, we continued to rate the service as good

The principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were not being followed as required; best interest decisions were not in place for all people that required them. However, the provider was in the process of implementing such a process.

There were sufficient staff to meet the needs of people and to support them to access the community.

Families told us they felt their relatives were safe at the home. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities to safeguard people from the risk of harm. Staff knew how to identify, prevent and report abuse.

There were robust arrangements in place for the safe recording, storage and administration of medications, as well as risk assessments and practices to safeguard people’s health and wellbeing.

Risks to people and the environment were assessed and reviewed regularly.

The registered manager understood their responsibilities for end of life care and knew how to access relevant support if needed.

The provider had an effective recruitment process in place. Staff had undertaken all other appropriate training to be able to support people according to their needs, choices and preferences. Care plans and risk assessments were regularly updated and contained personalised information to support people's needs.

Staff had developed respectful, caring relationships with the people they supported. People received care and support which reflected their preferences, capabilities and needs. People were involved in making decisions about their care and had care plans that were compiled using pictures and photographs so that they were accessible to them.

Staff worked in partnership with health and social care professionals to promote people's health and wellbeing.

The registered manager promoted a person centred, caring philosophy, which was shared by all staff.

The home had a warm and friendly feel and people appeared happy and relaxed with staff.