Avenues East - Services

Updated 1 May 2020

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in their own homes, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

Prior to the inspection, we checked all the information we had received about the service. We assessed the information received in the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

We contacted the local authority and the local Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people using the service, one relative and four members of staff including the registered manager.

We reviewed a range of care records for three people and looked at records in relation to the safety and management of the service. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We also saw a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including staff training, service governance and policies and procedures.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate the evidence we found.

Updated 1 May 2020

Avenues East – Services is a supported living service providing support to people with a learning disability and or autism living in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received support with personal care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects where people receive personal care support. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of this inspection, the service provided personal care support to 58 people over 12 twelve supported living accommodations.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Feedback from the people using the service was positive about the personalised care provided to support people achieve their individual needs. A well-developed holistic approach to assessing and delivering care was in place. Staff were responsive to people’s needs and delivered support which achieved agreed outcomes for the individuals using the service. Staff providing the individualised care and support to people were passionate about ensuring people achieved their desired outcomes and met their goals. The service was tailored to meet the needs of individual people and delivered in ways to ensure flexibility, choice and continuity of care.

Staff had received training including the safeguarding of people, administration of medicines, infection control and epilepsy. Staff also informed us they had regular supervision and a yearly appraisal. Care plans and risk assessments had been written from an assessment of the person’s needs and was updated as necessary. The staff were aware of the contents of the care plan so that they understood the individuals needs and how to support them to meet their desired goals. The service continued to have a robust recruitment process in operation and had sufficient members of staff to cover the rota.

People were supported to live healthy lives and had access to health professionals when needed. People were supported to maintain a healthy diet and support was planned to meet people’s assessed nutritional and health needs. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their life and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported his practice.

People using the service shared positive relationships with the staff and people’s privacy, independence and dignity were respected. We observed staff listening to and supporting people to make choices about their care, support and meals of their choice.

The registered manager told us the aim of the service was to deliver person-centred quality care. The service provided was assessed and monitored by the registered manager and members of the senior management team to support the people using the service to meet their needs. There were governance procedures in place and issues were acted upon as identified. The service had a complaints policy and any issues raised were investigated to the satisfaction of all parties involved. Staff had received training and worked with other services regarding supporting people at the end of their lives in their own home, when this was their choice.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was good (published 13 September 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.