Avalon House

Avalon House is a residential care home providing personal care to people who are living with mental health conditions. At the time of the inspection five people were living at the home and the service can support up to 10 people. The care home accommodates people in an adapted building which is set over two floors.

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

People did not always receive safe care. The risks associated with people’s care had not consistently been identified and plans were not always in place to minimise these. People were supported by staff who understood the appropriate action to take should they be concerned about their safety. Staff had been recruited safely although we found improvements were needed to ensure the recruitment process became more robust. People were supported to take their medicines safely although we found improvements were needed in the record of medicine administration.

People received effective care. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were supported to receive appropriate healthcare in line with their specific needs. Staff had received training around people’s needs. People were supported to eat and drink meals of their choosing and were encouraged to develop life skills around preparing meals.

People received support that was caring, compassionate and kind. People were involved in all aspects of their care. People had their dignity and privacy respected. One of the key aims of the service was to develop people’s life skills. People told us, and we saw that this enabled people to have their independence promoted.

People received care that was responsive to their needs. People had been involved in stating how they wanted their care to be delivered. People had activities available to them based on their individual interests. People were able to raise concerns and be assured these would be investigated.

The service was not consistently well-led. Whilst systems were in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service the provider’s systems needed to become more robust to enable all aspects of the service to be monitored. Staff were able to feedback their views of the service and felt supported. The manager acted openly and responsively during the inspection ensuring they took immediate action to remedy any areas of improvement we identified.

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 14 November 2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to the safety and governance of the service.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk