About the service Woodview is a respite service run by the Brandon Trust. It is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to five adults with a range of needs including, physical and learning disabilities. People could have support from a few hours a day or for longer periods. At the time of the inspection there were four people using the service for varying periods of time. The service can also provide emergency placements if required.
The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.
The Secretary of State has asked the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to conduct a thematic review and to make recommendations about the use of restrictive interventions in settings that provide care for people with or who might have mental health problems, learning disabilities and/or autism. Thematic reviews look in-depth at specific issues concerning quality of care across the health and social care sectors. They expand our understanding of both good and poor practice and of the potential drivers of improvement.
As part of thematic review, we carried out a survey with the registered manager at this inspection. This considered whether the service used any restrictive intervention practices (restraint, seclusion and segregation) when supporting people. The service used positive behaviour support principles to support people in the least restrictive way.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Brandon Trust had vision and values that put people at the heart of the service. We saw that people and staff were engaged with in meaningful ways and their views valued. These were used to drive up quality in the organisational services. We found that staff at Woodview were highly motivated and proud of the service. They enjoyed their work and spoke positively about the people they cared for.
There was a strong organisational commitment from the provider to ensure equality and inclusion across the workforce. The registered manager had developed their leadership skills and other staff had opportunities to develop their skills.
The service had worked in partnership with external professionals to improve care outcomes and positive feedback was received reflecting this. There were systems for monitoring the quality of the service, gathering feedback from others and making continuous improvements.
People were safe and protected from avoidable harm. There were enough competent staff on duty and recruitment systems were robust. The service was clear about its responsibilities and role in relation to medicines and people received their medicines as prescribed. The service managed the control and prevention of infection well. If something went wrong, there was an appropriate thorough review, so lessons could be learnt.
Care and support were planned and delivered in line with best practice and assessments of needs were comprehensive. Staff had the training before they worked unsupervised and were supported by regular supervision and appraisal meetings to develop their skills and review their practice. People had choice and sufficient access to food and drink throughout the day.
Staff worked collaboratively across services to understand and meet people’s needs. Health needs were identified and action taken to address any concerns.
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.
People were treated with kindness from staff who knew them well. We observed staff spending time with people and listening to them. People were treated with dignity, respect and kindness during interactions with staff. Staff enjoyed their roles and spoke positively about those they supported. People’s right to privacy and confidentiality was respected.
People and their families were involved in developing their care and support. Their needs were identified, and their choices and preferences and how these are met were regularly reviewed. People were engaged in meaningful activities and consulted about what they wanted to do. People’s communication needs were identified and recorded. There was information about how to express concerns or a complaint.
The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence. The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice, independence and inclusion.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection: This service was registered with us on 16/10/2018 and this is the first inspection. The last rating for this service was Good (published 22 May 2018). Since this rating was awarded the registered provider of the service had changed. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection in line with our newly registered inspection programme.
You can read the report from the service’s last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Dimensions Woodview 97 Wantage Road on our website at www.cqc.org.uk
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.