We completed an unannounced visit on 26 March 2012, which took place over three hours. We then spoke with the manager of the service who was based at an alternative site. Our visit was part of a planned schedule of inspections.3 Watermeadows provides a rehabilitation service for people with an acquired brain injury. Some people stay at the home for a set period and then move into community housing with support. However, some people live at the home on a permanent basis. We met with two staff members, who told us that there were two people living at the home.
During our visit, we spoke with one person living at the home with staff present, and spoke with another person in their room. We also looked at care records, risk assessments, a person's personal allowance records and spoke with staff about their training.
People living at the home told us they were involved in day to day decisions. For example, they spoke about meal planning and deciding how they were going to spend their time. We saw from records how people had been involved in decisions regarding their health.
We saw that both people living at the home were relaxed and at ease with staff, and one person told us they felt able to express their opinions, and that these were listened to by staff.
Both people living at the home spoke with us about accessing activities outside of the home. One person was open about their behaviour and manner, which they discussed with us and the staff. The second person spoke with us about the activities they enjoyed, and they told us about the creative workshop they attended.
We talked with people living at the home about their sense of security and how they felt about the staff that supported them. They indicated in their own individual manner that they felt safe and at ease with staff. They both showed through their discussions and their behaviour during our visit that they could raise concerns and discuss worries with staff.
We did not speak directly with people about how the environment was kept clean as we were aware from discussions with staff and the comment of one person that their behaviour did impact on the hygiene of the home. Staff told us because of the lifestyle of the other person in the home this behaviour did not have a significant impact on them.