46 Bath Road

Updated 18 September 2018

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.

This was an unannounced inspection which was completed on 21 and 29 August 2018. The inspection was completed by one inspector.

The previous inspection was completed in July 2017. The service was rated as requires improvement. This was because people's medicines were not always being managed safely. Staff were not taking part in a fire drill. Hot water and food temperatures were not being checked at appropriate intervals in line with Trust's policy. The provider's quality assurance checks had not identified these shortfalls. At that time there were two breaches in regulation. The provider sent us an action plan shortly after the last inspection. These areas have now been addressed to ensure people’s safety.

Before the inspection, we asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they planned to make.

We reviewed the information included in the PIR along with information we held about the home. This included notifications, which is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law.

We contacted four health and social care professionals to obtain their views on the service and how it was being managed. This included professionals from the local community learning disability team and the GP practice. You can see what they told us in the main body of the report.

During the inspection we looked at three people’s records and those relating to the running of the home. This included staffing rotas, policies and procedures, quality checks that had been completed, supervision and training information for staff.

We spoke with four members of staff, the area manager and the chief executive who was visiting on the day of the inspection. On the second day of the inspection we spoke with the registered and deputy manager of the service. We spent time observing and speaking with everyone living at 46 Bath Road and spoke with two visiting relatives.

Updated 18 September 2018

This was an unannounced inspection, which meant the staff and the provider did not know we would be visiting. The inspection was carried out by one inspector on the 21 and 29 August 2018.

The last inspection was completed in July 2017 where the service was rated as Requires Improvement. This was because people’s medicines were not always being managed safely.

Staff were not taking part in a fire drill in line with Trust’s policy. Hot water, food temperatures were not being checked at the appropriate intervals in accordance with the provider’s policies and procedures. Whilst these areas were addressed shortly after the inspection with the registered manager taking appropriate action the provider’s quality assurance checks had not identified these shortfalls. At this inspection, we found sufficient improvements had been made and the legal requirements had been met.

People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

There was a registered manager in post. They had worked in the home for five years. 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.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen. This was the vision of the Trust, the registered manager and staff working at 46 Bath Road. People were very much part of their local community and care was tailored to the person.

46 Bath Road provides accommodation, personal care and support for up to six people. People who live at the home have a learning disability. There were six people living at 46 Bath Road, although one person was in hospital at the time of the inspection. The home is situated in Longwell Green close to shops, links with public transport and other amenities. There was a minibus available to enable people to go further afield.

Improvements had been made since the last inspection which included a review of documentation. This work was ongoing with care plans being updated with support from a representative from the Trust. New daily records had been introduced which captured what was happening for each person on a daily basis. Records were maintained of hot water and fridge temperatures and staff had taken part in regular fire drills. This ensured any risks were minimised and kept people safe. The service has improved to good.

People were safe. There were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs. However, due to staff vacancies there was a lot of bank and agency staff working in the home. This meant people could not always go out if staff were not familiar to the service and knew the people well. Risk assessments were carried out to enable people to receive care with minimum risk to themselves or others. People received their medicines safely.

People were protected from the risk of abuse because there were clear procedures in place to recognise and respond to abuse and staff had been trained in how to follow the procedures. Systems were in place to ensure people were safe including risk management, checks on the equipment, fire systems and safe recruitment processes.

People received effective care because staff had the skills and knowledge required to effectively support them. People's healthcare needs were monitored by the staff. Other health and social care professionals were involved in the care and support of the people living at 46 Bath Road.

Staff were knowledgeable about people and provided them with a service that was caring. People were being treated with dignity and respect and their privacy was maintained. People were supported to keep in contact with friends and family.

People’s views were sought during care reviews, resident meetings and annual surveys. Where people lacked the capacity to make complex decisions, staff ensured people’s rights were protected by involving relatives or other professionals in the decision making process. People were involved in day to day decisions such as what to wear, eat and how they wanted to spend their time. Complaints were responded to and, learnt from to improve the service provided.

People were involved in a variety of planned activities in the home and the local community. These were organised taking into consideration people’s interests and hobbies. Good links had been built with the local church where some people attended regular services and coffee mornings.

The service was well led. Staff were supported by a registered manager. Regular checks on the quality were completed by the registered manager and the provider’s representative.