Background to this inspection
Updated
6 June 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 inspection took place on 28 March 2018 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours' notice because the location provides support to people in the community and we needed to be sure we could speak to people using the service, their relatives, people providing support and also staff.
This inspection was carried out by one inspector who spoke with people using the service at their local day centre.
Before the inspection visit we looked at the information we held about Loxley House including any concerns or compliments. We looked to see if we had received any statutory notifications from the provider. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We considered this information when planning our inspection to the service.
During the inspection we spoke with eleven people who received support from Loxley House. We also spoke with six members of staff and the registered manager. We met and spoke with three family members and friends who were visiting people using the service.
We looked at four support plans to see how these were developed and to ensure these contained the choices and wishes of people using the service. We also reviewed the recruitment process, induction, supervision and training files for four carers. Other records we reviewed showed how the service managed safeguarding referrals, complaints, accidents and those related to the service's internal quality assurance process. We also looked at the records provided and used by Loxley House such as the monitoring records maintained and up to date.
We looked at additional records such as medicine records, daily records, reviews of support plans, risk assessments and any activities that people had undertaken.
Updated
6 June 2018
Loxley House Children's and Adult Community Care Services provide people using the service with the opportunity to be part of a family. Carers are employed by the service to provide either a long term or short term placement within their family home. People using the service were living with a learning disability, autism, or had communication needs. At the time of our inspection 30 people lived in a long term placement and 35 people used the service to receive a short break.
People using the service know it as ‘Shared Lives’ and this term is therefore used in the following report when referring to carers. This clarifies our statements for those reading the report who also use the service.
At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and on-going 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.
Loxley House 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.
The service supported people who had varied and often very complex needs to live a safe and fulfilled life in a caring family home environment. Assessed risks to people were reduced or eliminated to support the safety of people using the service. People and carers were 'matched' to ensure they shared similar interests and people's needs could be supported in the carer's home.
There were audits and spot checks in place to make certain staff worked correctly and that people received the appropriate support at a good standard. People using the service and their relatives had various ways of sharing their views and this was encouraged.
People’s support plans reflected their individual choices and goals. People were placed with a family that supported them to achieve these aims. Carers were supported to understand and meet the needs of the people they cared for. There was regular contact between the organisation and families providing support to people.
We found there were sufficient staff employed to meet people's needs, who had the appropriate training and support to deliver good quality care, which included training to meet people's health care needs.
People told us they felt safe when they were supported by staff and trusted them. All staff had regularly completed training in safeguarding to enable them to recognise signs of abuse and know who to report such incidents.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and support was provided in the least restrictive way possible. Staff understood and followed the Mental Capacity Act 2005 guidance. Staff asked for people's consent before providing any support.
The service monitored people's care and support needs and looked at people's aims and ambitions to develop new skills and interests. Carers and people using the service knew how to make a complaint and had no concerns about doing so, carers said the service listened to them.