Alison House

About the service

Alison House is a ‘care home’ that provides respite care and support for up to 5 people. All the people who live at Alison House have a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder. There were 4 people living at the home during the inspection.

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

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right Support

People were received a service that was safe for them to live and staff to work in. Regular reviews of the quality of the service took place, and improvements were made to ensure people’s care and support needs were met. This was in a way that best suited them. There were well-established working partnerships that promoted people’s participation and reduced their danger of social isolation. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Right Care

There were appropriately recruited, and trained staff, in sufficient numbers to support people to live safely, whilst enjoying their lives. Risks to people using the service and staff were identified, assessed, monitored, and reviewed. Complaints, concerns, accidents, incidents, and safeguarding issues were appropriately reported, investigated, and recorded. Trained staff safely administered people’s medicines.

Right culture

The provider had a culture that was positive, open, and honest with a leadership and management that was clearly identifiable and transparent. Staff understood the provider’s vision and values and followed them. They were aware of their responsibilities, accountability, and happy to take responsibility and report any concerns that might arise.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 7 March 2018).

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection to check whether the service was continuing to provide a good, rated service for people.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

The overall rating for the service remains Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

We did not inspect the key questions of effective, caring, and responsive.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Alison House 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.

We rated the service Good at our previous inspection in January 2016. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Alison House provides short term respite accommodation and support to adults with learning and physical disabilities. The service has five bedrooms all of which are wheelchair accessible. The service is staffed 24 hours and provides personal care but not nursing care. On the day of our visit, one person was using the service and two people were due to arrive later in the day.

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.

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.

People were safeguarded from potential harm and abuse. Staff undertook safeguarding training. Any issues raised were fully investigated. The service was maintained to make sure it remained a safe place for people to live.

Care and treatment were planned and delivered to help people retain their health and well-being. People and their relatives were involved in the care planning process and people received the individualised support they required and their needs were kept under review.

The provider had systems in place to ensure that people were protected from risks associated with their support. Risks to people`s health and wellbeing were identified and managed safely.

People's rights were protected in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). The registered manager understood their responsibilities regarding this.

People using the service and their relatives told us they were happy with the care provided. Staff were appropriately trained and received supervision and guidance from senior staff members where required.

People`s medicines were managed safely by staff who had their competencies assessed.

People were supported to attend healthcare appointments as required and staff liaised with people’s family members, GPs and other healthcare professionals to ensure people’s needs were met appropriately.

People were supported to eat and drink according to their individual preferences. Staff met people's nutritional needs.

People had opportunities to pursue their hobbies and interests and to socialise at the home and in the community.

On the day of the inspection there were enough staff to meet people's needs. Recruitment processes remained robust to protect people from being supported by any unsuitable staff members.

The provider had implemented and was operating effective systems to audit different aspects of the service; these included the administration of medicines, care records and reviews, fire safety procedures and health and safety checks.

Investigations of incidents and accidents took place and any learning from these issues was implemented to help to maintain or improve the service provided.

People using the service, family members and staff felt able to speak with the registered manager and provided feedback on the service. People’s complaints had been responded to and action taken to resolve them.

We made two recommendations in relation to notifications and the design and decorative order of the service.

Alison House provides short term respite accommodation and support to adults with learning and physical disabilities. The service has five bedrooms all of which are wheelchair accessible. The service is staffed 24 hours and provides personal care but not nursing care. At the time of our inspection two people were using the service.

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.

Safeguarding adults from abuse procedures were available and staff understood how to safeguard the people they supported. Staff had received training on the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and the Mental Capacity Act 2005. These safeguards are there to make sure that people receiving support are looked after in a way that does not inappropriately restrict their freedom. Services should only deprive someone of their liberty when it is in the best interests of the person and there is no other way to look after them, and it should be done in a safe and correct way.

People received individualised support that met their needs. The provider had systems in place to ensure that people were protected from risks associated with their support, and care was planned and delivered in ways that enhanced people’s safety and promoted their wellbeing.

Family members were involved in decisions about people’s care and how their needs would be met. People were supported to eat and drink according to their individual preferences.

Staff supported people to attend healthcare appointments as required and liaised with people’s family members, GPs and other healthcare professionals to ensure people’s needs were met appropriately. Medicines were managed safely.

People told us they were happy with the care provided. Staff treated people with kindness and understanding. Staff were appropriately trained and skilled to care for people.

Staff received supervision and guidance from senior staff members where required. Staff confirmed they felt supported by the team manager who was we were told approachable and helpful.

People who used the service, family members and staff felt able to speak with the manager and provided feedback on the service. People’s complaints had been responded to and action taken to resolve them.

Monthly audits were carried out across various aspects of the service, these included the administration of medication and health and safety checks. Where these audits identified that improvements were needed action had been taken to improve the service.