Avalon Skipton Services

Updated 1 December 2017

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 inspection took place on 17 October 2017 and was announced.

The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides both domiciliary care to people in their homes and a supported living service for younger adults who are often out during the day. We needed to be sure that someone would be available at the office to meet with us. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting five people with personal care.

The inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This 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 also reviewed the information we held about the service including notifications. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law.

We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people who used the service. We spoke with three people who were using the service, the relatives of two people, three members of support staff, the administrator, the registered manager and the quality and performance manager.

We looked at five people’s care records and five staff files as well as records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 1 December 2017

This inspection took place on 17 October 2017 and was unannounced. The service was inspected by one adult social care inspector.

Avalon Skipton Services provides supported living, or community based support in people's own homes. The service supports people who live in the Skipton area and surrounding villages. The service supports people from a few hours a week, to 24 hour support and management of the support is delivered through an office in Skipton.

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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff who had undergone recruitment checks to ensure they were safe to work. Staff understood how to report any concerns about abuse and manage risks to keep people safe. People were supported with their medication by staff who had received training in how to do this.

Staff had access to training and supervision to support them in their role. Staff understood the importance of seeking consent in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and knew how to support people to make their own decisions. Staff ensured people's health needs were monitored by healthcare professionals where appropriate.

People and relatives described staff as caring and kind. They also told us staff treated people with dignity and respect. People were encouraged to be involved in the planning and review of their care. People were supported by staff who knew them well. People and relatives knew how to raise any concerns they had about the service.

People, relatives and staff spoke positively about the registered manager and they told us the service was managed well and in people's best interests. People and relatives made positive comments about the service people received.