10 February 2015
During a routine inspection
The inspection took place on 10 February 2015 and was announced. The last inspection of the service was on 2 October 2013 and there were no breaches of legal requirements at the last inspection.
Barnardo’s West London Short Breaks is a domiciliary care provider that provides personal care for children and young people. At the time of our inspection they were providing a service to 26 children or young people, who had been assessed under the Children Act 1989 as ‘children in need’ because of their disability. The children and young people that receive a service have autism, learning disabilities and behaviours that challenge. Many are unable to communicate verbally.
The service had a registered manager in post. 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.
Parents told us they felt confident with care workers looking after their children. Care workers knew what action to take to ensure children and young people were protected from harm. Risks to young people’s welfare had been assessed and clear guidance put in place to minimise the identified risks, be it at home or in the community.
Care workers were carefully selected at recruitment stage. The service ensured children and young people were matched with care workers who were able to meet their specific needs and interests. Care workers received appropriate training and support, and the service made sure their skills and knowledge were kept up to date.
There was an emphasis from parents and the service to provide continuity and consistency of care workers to the children and young people they provided a service to. There was a primary and secondary care worker so that children were as far as possible cared for by someone they knew.
People were encouraged to make comments and complaints about the care and support they experienced. The service had appropriate arrangements in place to deal with these effectively.
All support plans for children and young people were thorough, comprehensive and reviewed regularly. There were systems in place to monitor the safety and quality of the service. Parent’s views and experiences were continually sought about how the service could be improved and these were acted on.