Short Break Service

Updated 1 June 2023

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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This focused inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

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

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We looked at all the information we held about the provider. This included the last inspection report, information we had received since the last inspection, such as notifications of incidents and other contact with the provider. We sought feedback from the local authority who work with the service. The registered manager had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR) on 20 March 2023. The PIR is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We met 3 people who lived at the service. We also met the registered manager, the deputy manager and 3 care staff. We looked at the care records for 3 people who lived at the service. We looked at the recruitment, training, and support records of 3 members of staff. In addition, we viewed other records the provider used for managing the service which included records of meetings and quality monitoring. As part of the inspection, we looked at how medicines were stored, recorded, and administered.

After the inspection we continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We spoke with a further and 4 relatives to obtain feedback on their experience of the service.

Updated 1 June 2023

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. 'Right support, right care, right culture' is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

About the service

Short Break Service is a ‘care home’ type of service that provides periods of respite care for people aged between 18 and 65 years of age with a learning disability and who may also have profound physical disabilities. The service provides support to approximately 60 people through periods of planned respite throughout the year. At any one time the service can accommodate a maximum of 10 people. The service also supports people who need respite on an emergency basis. All the people who use the service live in the London Borough of Ealing. At the time of our inspection there were 4 people using the service.

People's experience of using this service and what we found

Right Support

The service supported people to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence and they had control over their own lives. Staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interest; the policies and systems in the service supported this. The service gave people care and support in a safe, clean environment that met their physical and sensory needs. Staff supported people to take part in activities and pursue their interests in their local area. Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community.

Right Care

Staff treated people well and promoted their dignity and independence. People's communication needs were identified, and care plan's provided detailed information on their individual communication systems. People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs. Medicines were safely managed by trained staff who administered people's medicines in line with the prescriber's instructions. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people's needs and keep them safe.

Right Culture

People received good quality care and support by trained staff that could meet their needs and wishes. Staff knew and understood people well. Staff turnover was very low, which supported people to receive consistent care from staff who knew them well. The service enabled people and those important to them to work with staff to develop the service. Staff valued and acted upon people’s views. People and their relatives had regular opportunities to provide feedback on the service.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was good (published 21 November 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions safe, responsive and well-led. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service remains good.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Short Break Service on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.