4 February 2016
During a routine inspection
There were two registered managers in post at the service. 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 using the service were safe because staff understood their responsibilities for safeguarding people from abuse and avoidable harm. Provider’s safeguarding procedures were in place to ensure people were safe from abuse and staff were aware of the whistleblowing policy.
There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs. Recruitment checks had been carried out to ensure only staff who were suitable and of a good nature were employed to work with people
People’s care plans described their needs and preferences and staff were aware of people’s personal needs, history and what mattered to them. People and their relatives were involved in care planning and regular reviews.
People were positive about the knowledge and skills of staff who supported them. Staff said they were well supported and confident in their roles. Staff said the organisation was a good one to work for and they enjoyed their work. People commented there was consistency in staffing and staff had supported the same people over a period time. This helped staff to know people’s needs and preferences, and develop good working relationships with them.
People told us that the staff were professional, kind and treated them with dignity and respect.
Management and staff were aware about the Mental Capacity Act and their responsibilities regarding it. People were supported to maintain good health and received support, where needed, with accessing health care services.
The provider had an appropriate complaints procedure and people told us they knew how to complain if they needed to. The provider used questionnaires to obtain people’s feedback about the service.
People said the management team and organisation were approachable, responsive and encouraged feedback from them. The provider consistently monitored and assessed the quality of the service provided.
A completed satisfaction survey we received from one person who used the service and a relative indicated a very high level of satisfaction with the service provided. They agreed with the positive statements on the survey and commented positively on the quality of the support received.