Archived: Avenues East - West Midlands

Updated 7 April 2016

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

This inspection took place on 25 February 2016 and announced. The provider was given 48 hours notice because the location provides supported living services to people in their own homes. We needed to make sure that someone would be in the office to meet with us. The inspection was conducted by one inspector.

As part of the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service, such as statutory notifications we had received from the provider. Statutory notifications are about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We also reviewed the Provider Information Record (PIR). The PIR is a form where we ask the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and what improvements they plan to make. We asked the local authority and Healthwatch if they had information to share about the service provided. We used this information to plan the inspection.

During the inspection we spoke with one relative. We spoke with seven staff which included the regional manager, the case manager, the operation lead, a senior support worker and three support staff. We also received feedback from three health care professionals, an advocate and a housing support worker who had contact with the service. We viewed two records which related to assessment of needs and risks. We also viewed other records which related to management of the service such as medicine records, accidents reports and recruitment records.

There had been some recent changes in the management of the service. The provider had introduced the role of service manager to the service. It was envisaged that once the new service manager was in post they would apply to become the registered manager. In the meantime, the case and regional manager played an active role in managing the service with support of the registered manager as and when required.

Updated 7 April 2016

The inspection was carried out on 25 February 2016 and was announced. This was the first inspection of this service.

Avenues East West Midlands is a supported living service that provides personal care and support to people in their own homes. The provider specialises in delivering care to people with acquired brain injury or learning disabilities. At the time of our visit the agency was providing a service to six people, however only two of these people received the regulated activity of personal care. The frequency of visits and duration across the service varied from 16 hours per month to 24 hours care per day.

There was a registered manager in post however they were not present during the inspection. 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.

Relatives were confident that staff kept people safe from harm or abuse. Staff were knowledgeable about the signs of abuse and who to report concerns to. There were detailed risks assessments in place and staff knew how to protect people from harm. Staff were able to demonstrate that they would take appropriate action in the event of any accidents or incidents.

The provider has systems in place to ensure that staff were suitable to work with people. Staff received a structured induction to make sure they supported people safely.

Staff had been trained to support people to take their medicines safely. People were supported to arrange and attend medical appointments as required.

People were supported by staff who were motivated and well trained. Staffed received regular support and guidance to carry out their roles effectively.

Staff encouraged people to make decisions for themselves where able. Where people were unable to make certain decisions we saw that decisions were made in their best interest by people that knew them well.

People were supported to follow balanced and nutritional diets. People were encouraged to choose and prepare their own meals. Staff sought the advice and guidance of the dietician where there were concerns about people’s diet.

People were involved in developing their own care and support plans. Care plans were tailored to peoples’ individual needs and preferences.

People were encouraged and supported to maintain relationships with people who were important to them. Relatives and health care professionals found staff friendly and approachable.

Staff treated people with dignity and respect. Staff promoted people’s independence and actively encouraged them to pursue their interests and to access local amenities.

The provider had a complaints system that was accessible in different formats. We saw that appropriate action was taken to address and learn from complaints.

The provider worked in partnership with health care professionals and landlords to ensure a holistic approach to service delivery.

The provider had systems in place to collate information from accidents, incidents and safeguarding concerns. They analysed the information and took action to prevent re occurrence.

The provider had a range of checks in place to monitor the health, safety and wellbeing of people who used the service. They used feedback from people, relatives and staff to develop and make improvements to the service.