7 April 2016
During a routine inspection
There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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.
People told us that they felt safe in their own home and we observed people to be happy and relaxed around the staff that supported them. All staff had completed the provider’s mandatory training. Staffing levels ensured that people received the support they required at the times they needed. We observed that there was sufficient staff to meet the needs of the people they were supporting. The recruitment practice protected people from being cared for by staff that were unsuitable to work in their home.
Support plans contained risk assessments to protect people from identified risks and help to keep them safe. They gave information for staff on the identified risk and informed staff on the measures to take to minimise any risks.
People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed. Records showed that medicines were obtained, stored, administered and disposed of safely. People were supported to maintain good health and had access to healthcare services when needed.
People were actively involved in decisions about their care and support needs There were formal systems in place to assess people’s capacity for decision making under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
Care plans were in place detailing how people wished to be supported and people were involved in making decisions about their support. People participated in a range of activities both in their own home and in the community and received the support they needed to help them do this. People were able to choose where they spent their time and what they did.
Staff had good relationships with the people they supported. Complaints were appropriately investigated and action was taken to make improvements to the service when this was found to be necessary. The management team was approachable and had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided. Staff and people were confident that issues would be addressed and that any concerns they had would be listened to.