Archived: Carers Short Breaks Service

Updated 20 January 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 6 January 2016, and was announced. We gave 48 hours’ notice of the inspection because the service is small and the registered manager is often out of the office supporting staff. We needed to be sure that they would be in the office to help support the inspection process.

The inspection was undertaken by one inspector to avoid disruption to the people who lived at the service.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also looked at the other information we had for this service and found that no recent concerns had been raised. We had received information about events that the provider was required to inform us about by law, for example, where safeguarding referrals had been made to the local authority to investigate and for incidents of serious injuries or events that stop the service.

We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people living in the service. We observed how the staff interacted with people who used the service. We also observed how people were supported during individual tasks and activities and spoke with people and staff about their experience of the service. We carried out observations using the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We spoke with two people and one relative, and received written feedback from one other relatives. We also spoke with the registered manager and three care staff, two senior carers and the service coordinator.

We looked at three people’s care records to see if they were accurate and reflected their needs. We reviewed staff recruitment records, two weeks of staff duty rotas and three staff training records. We also looked at further records relating to the management of the service, including quality audits and health and safety checks to ensure the service had robust systems in place to monitor quality and drive improvement.

Updated 20 January 2016

Carers Short Breaks Service provides respite and short break accommodation for people with either physical or learning disabilities and complex needs. The service is provided in Fishermead, near Milton Keynes. The service has 3 beds and at the time of our inspection there were three people using the service on a regular basis.

Our inspection took place on 6 January 2016. At the last inspection in December 2013, the provider was meeting the regulations we looked at.

There was 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.

People felt safe in the service and with the support they received from staff. There were systems in place to protect people from the risk of harm and to ensure staff were able to report suspected abuse. Risks to people were assessed and assessments detailed the control measures that were in place to minimise the potential for future risk to occur.

There were sufficient numbers of staff on duty to meet people’s needs and robust recruitment processes had been followed to ensure that staff were suitable to work with people.

Safe systems were in place for the administration, storage and recording of medicines.

Staff received on-going training which helped them to deliver safe and effective care to people. They received formal supervisions which helped them to monitor their progress and development.

Some people who used the service did not have the ability to make decisions about certain aspects of their care needs. Staff understood the systems in place to protect people who could not make decisions and followed the legal requirements outlined in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

People had sufficient food and drink to maintain a healthy, balanced diet and were given choices about what they wanted to eat and drink.

Staff supported people to attend health appointments and made referrals to appropriate health professionals to ensure people’s general health and well-being.

Staff were knowledgeable about how to meet people’s needs and understood how people preferred to be supported on a daily basis. Staff had access to information on people’s abilities and needs, which allowed them to understand how they should provide good quality care. They understood how to promote and protect people’s rights and maintain their privacy and dignity.

People received person-centred care, based on their individual strengths, interests and needs. Feedback was sought from people and those important to them, such as family members on a regular basis to ensure that they remained satisfied with their care and support. This was used to help identify areas for development at the service. There were effective systems in place for responding to complaints.

The service had an open, positive and forward thinking culture. There were internal and external quality control systems in place to monitor quality and safety and to drive improvements. Staff were always thinking about ways to improve the delivery of service to people.