Archived: Sixth Avenue Social and Residential Home

53-55 Sixth Avenue, Blyth, Northumberland, NE24 2ST (01670) 368717

Provided and run by:
Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust

Important: This service is now managed by a different provider - see new profile

All Inspections

31 January 2013

During a routine inspection

People who used the service had complex needs which meant they were not able to tell us about their experiences.

We saw people who lived at the home were relaxed and engaged well with staff. People were asked about what they wanted and staff acted accordingly. There were regular reviews of care and where no next of kin were directly involved best interest meetings were held.

There were comprehensive care plans and risk assessments undertaken and these were regularly reviewed. A range of professionals were involved in care, including the Behaviour Analysis Intervention Team (BAIT) to support the staff deal with challenging behaviour.

Files contained person centred plans highlighting people's preferences. Staff told us, "The most important thing is caring for the service users; so here is a safe, happy environment for them to live in."

We spoke to two members of staff, who told us they had undertaken safeguarding training, and were able to tell us what was meant by safeguarding. One staff member said, "It's about protecting people from abuse."

We established that the service had appropriate levels of staffing during both the day and night and that these met with fire safety assessment requirements.

We noted there were regular audits of the service and care plans were reviewed on a six monthly basis and advice was sought from other professionals. This meant decisions about care and treatment were made by the appropriate staff at the appropriate level.