Archived: Care Management Group - 57 Bury Road

The care 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.

This inspection took place on 21 June 2018 and was unannounced. We returned on 22 June 2018 to complete the inspection.

There was a registered manager in post at the service. 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.

At the last inspection in November 2016 we identified that improvements were needed to the way people were supported to manage their medicines, the records about how risks should be managed, the support for people to take part in meaningful activities and the effectiveness of the quality assurance systems. At this inspection we found these areas had all been improved and the provider was meeting their legal obligations.

Staff interacted with people in a friendly and respectful way. They respected people’s choices and privacy. Relatives and social care professionals told us staff had the knowledge and skills to meet people’s needs and provided good care and support.

People and their relatives were involved in developing and reviewing their support plans. Systems were in place to protect people from abuse and harm and staff knew how to use them. Medicines were managed safely and staff had received suitable training in medicines management and administration. People received the support they needed to take their medicines.

Staff said they felt they were able to provide the care and support people needed. Staff understood the needs of the people they were providing support for and had the knowledge and skills to meet their needs.

Staff received a thorough induction when they started working at the service. They demonstrated a good understanding of their role and responsibilities. Staff had completed training to ensure the care and support provided to people was safe and effective to meet their needs.

The service was responsive to people’s needs and wishes. People and their relatives had regular meetings to provide feedback about their care and there was an effective complaints procedure.

The management team regularly assessed and monitored the quality of care provided. Feedback was encouraged and was used to make improvements to the service. The registered manager and leadership team had a good understanding of improvements that were needed in the service and had plans in place to implement them. Staff were confident in the skills of the registered manager and their ability to manage the service effectively.

The service did not have 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 provider has kept us informed of the situation around the management of the home. A new manager was in post and told us they were applying to become the registered manager. Throughout this report they will be referred to as the manager.

Staff were aware of what constituted abuse and what action they would take if they had any concerns over people’s safety. Risks associated with people’s care were identified and plans had been developed to reduce any risks. In a few areas of peoples care plans, risk assessments had not been regularly reviewed. Medicines were stored safely and administered as prescribed; however there was an error with recording of medicines on the day of the inspection. Procedures in relation to recruitment of staff had been followed ensuring the safety of people.

Staffing levels were planned to meet the needs of people. Staff received appropriate training and support to meet people’s needs. People had developed good relationships with staff who were caring and knowledgeable in their approach. People were treated with dignity and respect. Staff had tried to include people in the development of their care plans. Relatives told us their family members were well looked after and safe at the home.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) which applies to care homes. The manager and staff had a good understanding of DoLS and the action they needed to take. Applications had been made to the local authority. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of the need for consent and an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The manager and staff knew how to undertake assessments of capacity and when these may need to be completed.

People were provided with a choice of healthy food and drink ensuring their nutritional needs were met. People’s physical and emotional health was monitored and appropriate referrals to health professionals had been made.

People had care, support and health plans in place. Some activities were taking place but these were not personalised and did not always include what people had identified they liked to be involved with.

Details of the complaints procedure were displayed around the home in a pictorial format. The manager operated an open door policy and encouraged staff to make suggestions or discuss any issues of concerns. There were some quality assurance taking place, but this needed to improve to ensure all information was analysed and lessons could be learnt from the information. The recording of information relating to people needed to be improved.

We found two breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.

We found that staff were respectful and supported people's choices and wishes. People were able to communicate their choices and preferences and these were recorded in the support plans of people.

We found that people were involved in a range of social activities, which they enjoyed. For some people these were planned and for others these were arranged on a more ad-hoc basis. The recording of people's needs and support to be given including risk assessments were extensive.

57 Bury Road provides people with a warm, personalised, clean and comfortable environment. People have their own en-suite bedrooms and a choice of communal rooms.

We found that the home had adequate staffing levels to be able to meet people's needs.

Staff were able to demonstrate on the day people were cared for in a way which protected their safety and ensured they were involved in the running of the home. The manager was able to provide us with some written evidence demonstrating the views of others are sought to ensure the home is running safely and meeting people's needs.

We saw evidence that people were treated with respect, offered choices and their independence was promoted.

Assessments, support and care plans had been developed, including the views of other professionals, relatives and the person themselves. People were able to spend time doing the things they had identified they enjoyed. Risk assessments were completed to ensure people were able to take risks to do some of the things they enjoyed.

Staff told us they attended many training sessions and discussed safeguarding issues on a regular basis. We saw that the home had policies, procedures and information relating to keeping people safe.

Staff told us they went through a rigorous recruitment procedure and were not allowed to start work until all their references and checks had been completed. Staff told us they went through a good induction period, which gave them confidence.