Archived: Goodworth Road

Goodworth Road is a supported living service registered to provide personal care for adults between the age of 18-65 years of age with learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection the service was providing personal care to 3 people, however, only one person was present at the time of our visit.

A registered manager was 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.

People were supported by exceptionally caring, respectful staff who appreciated and welcomed diversity. People’s age, disability, gender and sexual orientation was understood by staff and met in a caring way. People were proactively supported to express their views and staff were able to provide the information and support required.

Staff ensured people had a good understanding of safeguarding. People had been provided with information about abuse and how to report their concerns. People and their relatives told us they felt safe with staff at Goodworth Road. People stated that staff were caring and they felt safe with staff who attended to their needs. Staff had a clear understanding of the different types of abuse and the procedures to be followed if they had witnessed or suspected abuse had taken place. Staff were provided with the contact details for the local authority safeguarding team. The way staff supported people to understand their own safety and risks was an outstanding feature of the support people received.

Robust recruitment processes were followed to help ensure that only suitable people were employed at the agency. People were involved in the recruitment process for new staff and their views were taken into consideration when implementing the matching process from of the staff team. There were enough staff to ensure that current people’s assessed needs could be met. It was clear that staff had a good understanding of how to attend to people’s needs.

Care plans were person-centred and reflected people’s specific individual needs, preferences and goals. They included information about how people preferred their assessed needs to be attended to. Risks had been identified to the health and safety of people and clear guidance about how to minimise risk was clearly recorded. People were actively encouraged to be involved in developing and reviewing their individual care plans, therefore having direct input to their care, treatment and support.

Accidents and incidents were recorded and monitored by the registered manager and information was cascaded to staff to help minimise the risk of a repeated event. If an emergency occurred at the office or there were adverse weather conditions, people’s care would not be interrupted as there were procedures in place. There was an on-call system for assistance outside of normal working hours and staff would be able to access records to ensure people’s assessed needs would continue to be met.

Staff had received training and supervisions that helped them to perform their duties. Staff had received training about the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and they had an understanding about the MCA. Staff told us they always sought people’s consent before undertaking any tasks. People told us that staff would not do anything without asking them first. All staff received induction training when they commenced their role. Mandatory training and other training specific to the roles of staff was also provided and refresher dates for this training had been sought.

People’s nutritional needs were met by staff. People were responsible for planning and cooking their own meals, however, staff were available to provide support if it was required and to offer advice about healthy eating. Healthcare professionals were involved in people’s care and staff liaised with them as and when required.

People were supported by staff to remain as independent as they were able. People were able to take care of themselves. People told us that staff showed kindness and compassion and their privacy and dignity were upheld and promoted by staff who attended to them. People were at the centre of the service and staff worked hard to respond to all their needs, wishes and goals. People had gained employment with staff support and encouragement and taken part in a range of activities to enable them to discover new skills and interests.

A complaints procedure was available for any concerns and people had been provided with a copy of this document. Complaints received by the provider had been investigated and resolved within timescales set in the policy.

Staff informed us that they felt supported by the registered manager and they had an open door policy and were approachable. Staff meetings took place and staff received regular contact from their line manager and the registered manager.

Quality assurance systems were in place that enabled the provider and registered manager to monitor the quality of service being delivered and the running of the service. This had led to proactive improvements being made for peoples benefit. People, relatives and associated professionals were able to express their views to the registered manager about how the service was run. These views were taken into account and acted on.