This inspection took place on 3 December 2015 and was unannounced. Telephone interviews took place on the 4 and 8 December 2015. Cheshire East Short Breaks is located in Macclesfield close to local amenities. Cheshire East Short Breaks is run by Cheshire East Council Care4CE. The service provides short break care services including accommodation and personal care for adults with learning disabilities. The service is purpose built and has four bedrooms. At the time of our visit there was one person staying at the home. There is a large accessible car park provided for visitors. Staff explained that people who stayed at the service preferred to be referred to as customers. We have used this preferred term throughout this report. Staff are on duty 24 hours a day and provide sleep in duties.
The service 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 and associated regulations about how the service is run.
We spoke with people living at the service and relatives/representatives who acted on their family member’s behalf. They were positive about Cheshire East Short Breaks and praised all the staff and the care and support provided.
We observed how staff spoke and interacted with customers and found that they were supported with dignity and respect. We observed a friendly rapport between customers being supported and the staff. The atmosphere was relaxing and calm.
We found the staff had a good understanding of supporting customers when they lacked capacity, including the requirements of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS.) Staff took appropriate actions to fully support customers who lacked capacity to make decisions for themselves.
We found care plans focused on the individual person. They contained guidance to enable staff to know how to support each customer with their needs and requests. Staff had a good understanding and knowledge of each customer’s individual needs and preferences. Some of the customers that stayed at the service used non verbal signs to communicate. Staff were trained and aware of how customers communicated their preferences and choices. Plans were in place to support people's communication methods. Staff used easy read formats to help some customers to better understand their support plan.
The service had a complaints procedure and relatives were confident that they could raise their opinions and discuss any issues with senior staff. They did not raise any concerns during our visit.
The service operated safe recruitment of staff and ensured that staff employed were suitable to work with people staying at Cheshire East Short Breaks. Appropriate pre-employment checks were carried out to enable the management of the service to have adequate information before employing staff.
Staff had received regular supervision and training to assist them in their job roles and in their personal development. The provider offered a wide range of training to all of their staff team to ensure they fully understood their customer’s needs.
Various audits at the service were carried out on a regular basis by the manager and the provider to help ensure that appropriate standards were maintained throughout the home.