Background to this inspection
Updated
8 December 2018
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 announced comprehensive inspection took place on 15 November 2018 and was carried out by one inspector. We gave the service three hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small short breaks service and we needed to be sure that the registered manager or a senior care worker would be in.
Prior to this inspection, we reviewed information that we held about the service such as notifications. These are events that happen in the service that the provider is required to tell us about. We also considered the last inspection report and information that had been sent to us by other agencies. Before the inspection visit, the registered provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the registered provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
The registered manager was away on the day of our inspection visit. We spoke with two team leaders, a member of the care staff team and the cook. We also spoke with a health professional who was visited the service to support a person. We spoke at length with one person who used the service and briefly with another. We saw how staff interacted with and supported people.
We looked at the care records of three people who used the service. We looked at information about the training staff received and a range of records relating to the running of the service. These included management audits, incident reports and records concerning the maintenance and safety of the premises.
Updated
8 December 2018
This inspection took place on 15 November 2018. We let the service know on the morning of our inspection visit that we would be arriving because we did not want people using the service to be anxious when we arrived. Also, we needed to be sure that the registered manager or a member of the senior care staff would be in.
The service is a short breaks service that supports up to 70 people at various times throughout the year. Short breaks last between one and 21 nights. At the time of our inspection five people were using the service.
The service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.
At our last inspection on 12 May 2016 we rated the service ‘good.’ At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good overall. 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.
Staff understood their roles and responsibilities to safeguard people from the risk of harm. Risk assessments associated with a person’s care and support were reviewed before they began their latest stay and, if necessary, during their stay. People were involved in the planning of their care which was person centred and updated before they came to the service . People were supported to access relevant health and social care professionals if they needed to during their stay. They were supported to take their medicines as prescribed by their GP.
Safe recruitment processes were in place. People received care from staff that had received training and support to carry out their roles. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs.
Staff understood their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act, 2005 (MCA). Staff gained people's consent before providing personal care. People were supported with their nutritional needs. Special dietary and cultural requirements were met. People had a choice of healthy meals that were freshly prepared by a cook.
People stayed in rooms they had used before unless they requested otherwise. They had use of spacious communal areas where they socialised with other people and participated in activities. Other facilities included People had use of a sensory room where they could relax and a garden.
Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity. People had developed positive relationships with staff. Staff had a good understanding of people's needs and preferences.
People were supported to express themselves, their views were acknowledged and acted upon and care and support was delivered in the way that people chose and preferred. People using the service and their relatives knew how to raise a concern or make a complaint.
The service had a registered manager. 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.
The registered manager was supported by the provider’s operations manager. Both monitored the quality of the service. People’s feedback about their experience of the service was consistently positive. Feedback from a staff survey was acted upon to improve staff experience of working at the service.
Further information is in the detailed findings below.