This inspection took place on 31 March 2015 and was unannounced. When we last visited the home on 2 May 2013 we found the service met all the regulations we looked at.
Community Options 56 High Street, Chislehurst, Kent provides accommodation and support for up to ten people with learning disabilities and mental health issues. At the time of our inspection the home was providing care and support to ten people.
The home 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.
During our inspection we found that the provider had breached a regulation of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010. You can see what action we have told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.
Staff showed an awareness of the providers safeguarding policies and procedures and the whistle-blowing procedure should they need to use it. Assessments were undertaken to assess risks to people using the service. Risk assessments documented information and offered clear guidance to staff on what actions were required to reduce reoccurrence.
The provider had safe recruitment practices in place and appropriate recruitment checks were conducted before staff started work. Staff received regular support, supervision and training that supported them to meet people's needs effectively.
People's medicines were stored, recorded, managed and administered safely.
The home was clean and well maintained. Records showed that if maintenance issues were identified action plans were put into place to resolve issue quickly.
Staff demonstrated a good understanding of people’s right to make informed choices and decisions independently but where necessary for staff to act in someone’s best interest. Staff had received training in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Depravation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) to ensure where appropriate requests to the local authority were made in accordance with the MCA to deprive people of their liberty where necessary to prevent harm.
People were supported to eat and drink sufficient amounts to meet their needs and ensure a balanced diet. Care plans and records highlighted people's specific nutritional needs and how they could be supported to promote a healthy diet. People had access to health and social care professionals when needed.
Staff displayed kindness and compassion toward people and we saw positive interactions between staff and people using the service. Staff responded to people respectfully when offering support and care plans detailed people's preferences, likes and dislikes and expressed wishes.
People were provided with information about the home and external agencies and were provided with opportunities to feedback about the service they received. People were involved in the planning of their care and staff encouraged people to be as independent as possible. Staff provided support to enable people to engage in a range of activities that reflected their interests.
The home had a complaints policy and procedure in place which was located in communal areas throughout the home. People told us they were aware of the home’s complaints procedure and would tell a member of staff if they had any concerns.
Although the provider had procedures and systems in place to evaluate and monitor the quality of the service we found that procedures were not always followed. The provider did not always ensure that notifiable incidents and accidents were reported to the CQC as required.
The home encouraged involvement from people, their relatives where appropriate and health and social care professionals in the monitoring and assessing of the quality of the service. Audits were conducted on a regular basis which included areas such as housekeeping, infection control, catering, health and safety and administration of medicines. Audits were up to date and records of actions taken to address highlighted concerns were completed.