SENSE - 35 Hawthorn Road

Updated 26 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: This inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector.

Service and service type: 35 Hawthorn Road provides accommodation and personal care for up to six people.

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. However, the registered manager was not available during this inspection.

Notice of inspection:

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection site visit because it is a small home for people with learning disabilities. This inspection was carried out 13 March 2019.

What we did:

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. This included the statutory notifications sent to us by the registered provider about incidents and events that had occurred at the service. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send to us by law.

The registered provider had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the registered provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and any improvements they plan to make. We used this information to plan our visit.

During the inspection we spoke with the deputy manager, the provider, the quality assurance auditor, two members of staff and two relatives. We looked at care records belonging to two people receiving support, recruitment records for four members of staff and other records relating to the management and quality monitoring of the service.

Updated 26 April 2019

About the service: 35 Hawthorn Road provides accommodation and personal care for up to six people. People who use the service live with disabilities that affect their hearing and vision and other sensory disabilities.

People’s experience of using this service: Safe care and treatment was not always provided. Safe medication processes were not in place with regards to the management of some aspects of people’s medicines. There was also no evidence that any checks on people’s medication were undertaken to ensure people’s medicines had been administered correctly. We also found that the management of the service overall was not consistent, this was also commented on by relatives and staff.

We observed support being delivered within the home and saw that people were comfortable in the presence of staff. This indicated that positive relationships had developed between people receiving support and care staff

The registered provider had a complaints policy in place and people were given information on how to make a complaint about the service should they wish to do so. Safeguarding and whistleblowing procedures were also in place for staff to follow. Staff spoken with were knowledgeable about safeguarding procedures and how to raise any concerns they had.

Staff were recruited safely and received regular supervision and the correct level of training to do their job.

People received the support they needed to eat and drink and maintain a healthy and balanced diet.

Consent to care and treatment were sought in line with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People told us staff always asked for their consent before providing support. People’s chosen advocates was identified in their care plans should people need support to make a decision about their care.

Care plans and risk assessments reflected people's needs, and held person-centred information. Care files had been reviewed regularly and people were involved in these reviews.

People who lived in the home had multiple sensory disabilities, the provider had strategies in place to ensure communication was effective and that people were given the opportunity to make their own choices about their lives.

Rating at last inspection: The service was last inspected 28 January 2016. At the last inspection this service was rated as Good. At this inspection it was rated Requires Improvement

Why we inspected: This was a planned comprehensive inspection.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

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