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Archived: Barnet Mencap - 35 Hendon Lane

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

35 Hendon Lane, London, N3 1RT (020) 8349 3842

Provided and run by:
Barnet Mencap

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 25 April 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, 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:

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to children and young adults living in their own houses and flats in the community.

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. A service manager had commenced employment approximately six weeks prior to the inspection and had applied to register with CQC.

Notice of inspection:

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff or providing care. We needed to be sure that they would be in. Inspection site visit activity started on 13 March 2019. We visited the office location on 13 March 2019 to see the registered manager and to review care records and policies and procedures. We called additional staff and relatives on 21 March 2019.

What we did:

We used information the provider sent to us in the Provider Information return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send to us to give us some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We looked at information we held about the service, including notifications they had made to us about important events. We also reviewed all other information sent to us from other stakeholders, for example, the local authority and members of the public.

During the inspection, we spoke to the registered manager, service manager and two staff members.

We looked at the care records for two people, four staff employment related records and records relating to the quality and management of the service. We spoke with one relative on the telephone following the inspection.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 25 April 2019

About the service: Barnet Mencap – 35 Hendon Lane (also known as Take a Break) is a short break respite service run by Barnet Mencap. The service provides support for children and young adults on a short break or respite basis in their homes. The service mainly provides a service to families at weekends or on school holidays. The service works with a portfolio of 10 families on a regular basis.

On the day of the inspection, nobody was receiving personal care. Therefore, we reviewed documentation based on people who received a service within one week of the inspection date.

People’s experience of using this service:

Relatives were positive around the service received, particularly commenting on staff knowledge and trust built between the person receiving care and the staff member.

People received a consistent level of care from a team of regular care workers. There were enough staff employed to meet people's needs.

Risks to people were managed in a way that kept them as safe as possible whilst promoting independence and learning. Risk management guidelines were in place to help care workers when supporting people.

Care plans were individualised and met the needs of people using the service. People were supported to lead socially active lives.

There was a clear management structure and staff told us they felt supported and valued.

Staff received regular training and had one to ones with the service manager.

Rating at last inspection: Good. (Report published August 2016)

Why we inspected: This was a scheduled inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive.

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