6 May 2014
During a routine inspection
During this inspection we also checked if improvement actions from the last inspection carried out in June 2013 had been completed. Some of these matters we needed to check did not necessarily relate to people's views and experiences. Therefore at this visit we did not ask people to comment on all of the outcomes we looked at.
Is the service safe?
The recruitment procedures demonstrated to us that the provider operated a robust and effective recruitment procedure to protect the interests of people who used the service.
We saw there were company policies and procedures in place for staff to refer to about the safeguarding of people who may have lacked capacity. We saw evidence that each person's capacity to consent was assessed and recorded. This included recording people's legal status and who should be contacted if certain decisions had to be made on behalf of those who did not have the capacity to do so.
Is the service effective?
The reviews of care showed that people and their relatives had been involved in the assessment of their needs and part of the decision making about how their needs would be met by the service. The care plans we viewed had a designated section for signatures of the assessor and for the client. This meant that people understood the care they received and support was consistent with and in accordance to their wishes.
One person who used the service we spoke with said, 'The staff are really nice'. They also told us that staff were appropriately trained to meet their needs. All of the comments made by people we spoke with were very positive about the staff and care they received.
Is the service caring ?
We saw that an assessment of needs was completed before people began using the service. The information gathered in the assessments was used to create an individual support plan for people. We saw that formal reviews of care and support had taken place.
In some of the care plans we looked at we saw detailed life stories about individuals that provided personalised information about their preferences, likes and dislikes. We saw that where necessary people had been referred to other professionals.
Is the service well-led?
Systems that were in place were effective in monitoring the quality of the service. Any actions identified through the process were responded to in a timely manner.
The registered manager and provider told us about all of the areas of quality assessments that take place regularly using a software tool called Care Free. We saw records that supported the manager to ensure that regular audits of quality monitoring took place.
Is the service responsive?
Relatives told us that the continuity of staff was made a priority by the provider and when any new staff were introduced a planned, phased introduction was put in place. This meant that people who used the service were supported in meeting their needs by staff who were well trained.
Due to the number of people currently using the service there were regularly communications in place to establish people's views about the service. This occurred through daily communications with the staff and the manager. We saw that a more formal satisfaction survey was completed at every person centred review.