7 and 12 May 2015
During a routine inspection
This inspection took place on 7 and 12 May 2015 and was unannounced. Beechcroft - Cheltenham provides accommodation and personal care for up to four people with a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder. There were three people living there at the time of the inspection.
A registered manager was in place as required by their conditions of registration. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People’s care was focused around their individual needs and support requirements. People were supported to take part in activities that were meaningful to them and to maintain relationships outside of the home. Staff knew people’s preferences in food and dietary requirements. Specialist advice was requested where necessary such as the speech and language therapist.
People’s medicines were managed safely on the whole however protocols for the use of ‘when required’ medicines lacked the necessary detail to fully support staff in making decisions about people’s care needs .
People living in the home, their relatives and staff were all encouraged to give regular feedback about the service. Any shortfalls were identified and actioned.
The registered manager led by example to provide a service which was tailored to each person’s individual needs and preferences. As part of this, a balance was achieved between keeping people safe and supporting them to make choices and develop their independence. There was strong support and guidance from the provider with regular monitoring of quality.
Staff felt well supported and had the training and supervision they needed to provide personalised support to each person. The provider was committed to the on-going development of their staff and had developed training and managerial programmes to support this.