63 Eton Avenue

Updated 12 January 2019

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 a comprehensive inspection which took place on 31 October 2018 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice of the inspection because the location is a small care home for younger adults who are often out during the day. We needed to be sure that they would be in.

This inspection was carried out by a single inspector.

Before the inspection we reviewed our records about the home, including previous inspection reports, notifications and other information we had received from or about the provider. We also reviewed the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During our inspection we spoke with two people who used the service, the deputy manager and two members of the support team. We spent time observing care and support being delivered in the communal areas, including interactions between staff members and people who lived at the home. We looked at records, which included three people’s care records, three staff records, policies and procedures, medicines records, and other records relating to the management of the service. Following our inspection we spoke with a family member of a person living at the home.

Updated 12 January 2019

We conducted an announced inspection of 63 Eton Avenue on 31 October 2018. The service is a small home providing care and support for up to three people with learning disabilities, autism and behaviours that may be challenging. There were three people living at the home when we visited.

At our last inspection we rated the home as Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

The home had a registered manager in post. 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.

Procedures were in place to ensure that people were safe from harm, Personalised risk assessments for people were up to date. Staff members had received training in safeguarding of adults from abuse and understood their roles and responsibilities in ensuring that people were safe.

People’s medicines were managed safely. They were stored and administered appropriately. Accurate records were made when medicines were given. Staff members had received training in the safe administration of medicines.

People had personalised care plans in place. These were reviewed regularly and updated to reflect any change in needs. One person’s care plan had been developed in an easy read picture assisted format and the home was planning to ensure that all care plans were made accessible in the near future.

People’s care plans and risk assessments included guidance for staff on supporting people’s communication needs. Staff members communicated with people in ways that they understood, using, for example, objects and gestures along with words where appropriate. Behavioural plans were in place which focused on minimising people’s anxieties.

All staff members working at the home had been safely recruited. References and criminal record checks were taken up prior to their appointment. New staff members received an induction to ensure they had the knowledge required to prepare them for their role. All staff members were provided with a range of training sessions which were relevant to their work. This training was regularly refreshed to ensure that staff maintained their skills and knowledge. All staff members had received regular supervision from a manager.

People were supported to eat and drink a healthy range of foods. Support was provided to ensure that their health needs were met and staff at the home liaised regularly with other health and social care professionals.

The home was meeting the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005). People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice. People were offered choices about what they wanted to do. Staff members demonstrated that they understood the importance of enabling people to make their own decisions.

Monthly quality monitoring audits and reviews had taken place and people and relatives had been asked for their feedback about the support provided at the home. A complaints procedure was in place and a family member told us that they knew how to use this.