Avondale House

Updated 15 February 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type:

Avondale House 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. This service is also a domiciliary care agency. Domiciliary care agencies provide personal care to people living in their own houses. However, Avondale House did not provide any care and support to people in the community and were not going to in the future.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

What we did:

Before visiting the service, we looked at previous inspection reports and information sent to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) through notifications. Notifications are information we receive when a significant event happens, like a death or a serious injury.

We also looked at information sent to us by the manager through the Provider Information Return (PIR). The PIR contains information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We reviewed three people's care plans. We also looked at a variety of different sources of information relating to these people, such as; care and support plans, activity plans and risk assessments. In addition, we looked at; surveys, staff rotas, training records, recruitment files, medicine administration records, complaints and accident logs. We asked the manager to send us some documentation via email after the inspection. These were received on the days following the inspection.

On inspection, we spoke with five people and observed interaction between staff, the registered manager and people. We also spoke with the registered manager and three members of staff.

Updated 15 February 2019

About the service:

Avondale House is a ‘care home’ for eight people of varying ages who required mental health support. The premises was located close to shops and the local sea front. At the time of inspection there were eight people living at the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

The atmosphere at Avondale House was warm and friendly. Staff were supportive and encouraged people to live full and active lives and to achieve their goals. One person told us how it felt to live at Avondale House; "It felt unreal, the amount of support since I have been here. I'm a different person." Another commented; "I love living here, it’s a really good place, good staff, they are very good, they do their jobs to the absolute maximum."

People had good relationships with staff, who were knowledgeable of their physical and emotional needs, as well as likes, dislikes and interests. Staff were receptive to changes in people's mood and health and sought immediate advice from colleagues and relevant professionals. Contemporaneous and accurate notes were kept and recorded electronically which allowed staff to quickly identify patterns, trends and triggers and put in the necessary measures to maintain people's health and reduce risk.

People felt safe living at the service. The registered manager carried out the appropriate checks to ensure staff were safe to work with people. Staff had the knowledge and skills to protect people from harm and abuse. People were supported by an appropriate number of staff, with the knowledge and skills to support them. People chose how they wanted to be supported and by whom and this was regularly reviewed. Staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2014 and were respectful of people and their choices. Peoples information was kept securely, and staff understood the concept of confidentiality.

People were encouraged to be as independent as possible, some were supported to build the knowledge and confidence to travel unaccompanied in the community, whilst others were encouraged to do as much as possible for themselves when having personal care. People were supported to learn and maintain life skills, such as; cooking. Staff promoted healthy eating and exercise, and had begun healthy eating projects, cooking classes and exercise sessions at the premises and within the community.

People told us that they enjoyed the company of staff and were supported to try new experiences and activities. If people had ideas and suggestions for new activities, these were raised at house meetings and actioned by staff. If people had concerns or complaints, they felt comfortable raising these with staff and the registered manager. People were fully involved in their care planning and received information in a way that they understood.

The premises were clean, well-maintained and people's bedrooms were decorated according to each person's style and preference. People were protected from the spread of infection and medicines were stored and managed safely.

The registered manager and staff conducted regular checks to monitor and maintain the quality of support provided to people. They reviewed trends and patterns and took appropriate action as a result. Staff felt supported by the registered manager who encouraged them to reflect upon their own practice, and that of the service and to think 'outside the box' and share any ideas and/or concerns. Staff used innovative ways to help people to achieve their goals and to promote positive outcomes.

Rating at last inspection:

Comprehensive inspection published 20 July 2016 – Good with a breach around staff recruitment in the safe key question. Found to be compliant following focused inspection published 4 March 2017.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive. We will follow up on identified areas for improvement at the next scheduled inspection.

For more details, please see the full report which is on CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk.