Our inspection took place on 12 July 2016 was announced. The provider was given 24 hours’ notice because the location provides a service to a small number of people who often go out and we needed to be sure that someone would be in. At our last inspection on 29 January 2014 the provider was meeting all the regulations we assessed.
The service is a registered care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to four people with learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were two people living at the home.
The leadership in the home had not ensured that the service and staff were developed so that people were supported with activities that were meaningful, and that developed and stretched the life experiences of people.
The quality assurance system was not robust and did not always identify shortfalls in the service, or develop action plans that ensured that improvements in the quality of the service were made.
People were supported by staff that had received training, but this was not always up to date training.
People felt safe using the service and they were protected from the risk of abuse because the provider had systems in place to minimise the risk of abuse. However this system was not always effective in ensuring all staff knew what actions to take in the event of an allegation or incident of abuse
There was a system in place which showed that when complaints were raised these were listened to and addressed, but the records did not always show what actions had been taken. There was no analysis of the complaints received to determine whether there were any trends or themes that needed to be resolved so that the quality of the service could be improved.
Staff were not always clear about how people’s rights to make decisions was safeguarding under the Mental Capacity Act. Staff were supporting people to make choices and ensure that the correct agreements were in place where people’s liberty was being restricted. However, staff were unclear about what restrictions had been approved and when authorisations needed to be reviewed.
People’s representatives were complimentary about the kindness of staff and felt fully involved in people’s care.
People were supported by staff that were kind and caring. Some staff understood people’s needs well.
Risks associated with people’s needs had been identified and management plans put in place but they were not always sufficiently detailed to ensure that staff were aware of how to keep people safe.
There were enough staff to support people safely. People received support from a stable staff team that had got to know people well.
People were supported to take their medicines and have their healthcare needs met.
People were supported to eat and drink food that met their dietary requirements and that they enjoyed eating.