Slade House

Updated 2 February 2019

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.

The inspection was unannounced and took place on 30 November 2018. The inspection was completed by one inspector.

We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us to give us some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We looked at all the information we have collected about the service. This included the previous inspection report and notifications the registered manager had sent us. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to tell us about by law.

We looked at care records for five people who live in the service. This included care plans, daily notes and other documentation, such as medication records. In addition, we looked at records related to the running of the service. These included a sample of health and safety, quality assurance, staff and training records.

We spoke with three people who live in the service and observed interactions between people and the care staff. We spoke with four staff members including support workers, senior support workers and the registered manager. We requested information from external health and social care professionals including the local safeguarding team. All responses were extremely positive. We received comments from some relatives, which were also positive.

Updated 2 February 2019

Slade House is a care home (without nursing) which is registered to provide a service for up to eight people with learning disabilities. People had other associated difficulties such as being on the autistic spectrum. Slade House is one of eight separate care homes within the Purley Park Trust Estate. There were eight people living at the service when we visited.

At our last inspection we rated the service Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated Good.

People and their relatives felt confident that people were safe and secure when receiving care. There were clear systems in place to ensure the safety of people. Staff had received training to identify if people were at risk from abuse or harm.

Sufficient staff were deployed to ensure that people had a consistently reliable service. Recruitment procedures to appoint new staff were thorough. People were supported to take their medicines safely.

People who use the service used a range of communication methods. These included non-verbal to limited verbal communication. People's individual methods of communication were clearly understood by staff.

People received good quality care. Staff treated people with respect and kindness at all times and were passionate about providing a quality service that was person centred. People were encouraged to live a fulfilled life with activities of their choosing and were supported to keep in contact with their families.

People's dignity and privacy was respected. People told us staff were reliable, friendly, and caring. Staff developed positive and caring relationships with the people they supported and used creative ways to enable people to remain independent.

Quality assurance frameworks in place across the service were robust. The registered manager conducted regular audits that were systematic and meaningful. They ensured the service continued to provide excellent quality and safe care. The records kept of these checks showed that, where issues were identified, prompt action had been taken.

People received their care and support from a staff team that had a full understanding of people's care needs and the skills and knowledge to meet them. Staff were given an induction when they started and had access to a range of training to provide them with the level of skills and knowledge to deliver care efficiently.

Further information is in the detailed findings in the full report.