This inspection took place on 4 December 2014 and was unannounced.
Real Life Options – Springfield Road is a care home with nursing which provides accommodation and care in two adjacent bungalows for up to 12 women who have learning disabilities and/or a mental health diagnosis and who need support to live in the community.
At the time of our visit there was no registered manager at this service. The home was being managed by a manager who had applied for registration with CQC. 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 in this home told us that they felt safe. There were good systems for making sure that staff reported any allegation or suspicion of poor practice and staff were aware of the possible signs and symptoms of abuse.
The arrangements for the storage, administration and recording of medication were good and this meant that people were protected from possible errors.
People who lived in this home told us that they were happy with their care. People and, where appropriate, their relatives, were included in decisions about the running of the home and how the care was provided. People told us about how staff helped them to develop skills and to stay as independent as possible.
People told us that they were supported to attend social and educational activities of their choice. People had opportunities to be involved in the local community. People’s relatives were encouraged to visit and be involved in social occasions.
Throughout our inspection we saw examples of good care and we saw that staff treated people with dignity and respect.
The CQC is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) sets out what must be done to make sure that the human rights of people who may lack mental capacity to make decisions are protected, including when balancing autonomy and protection in relation to consent or refusal of care. This includes decisions about depriving people of their liberty so that they get the care and treatment they need where there is no less restrictive way of achieving this. The MCA Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) requires providers to submit applications to a ‘Supervisory Body’ for authority to deprive someone of their liberty. We found that the manager and staff had a good understanding in relation to recent interpretations of this legislation and they demonstrated an understanding of the impact on people at the home. This meant that people’s human rights were being protected.
Staff working in this home understood the needs of the people who lived there. We saw that staff and people living in the home communicated well with each other and that people were enabled to make choices about how they lived their lives.
Staff were appropriately trained and skilled and provided care in a safe environment. They all received an induction when they started work at the home and fully understood their roles and responsibilities. The staff had also completed relevant training to make sure that the care provided to people was safe and effective to meet their needs.
People were supported to have their mental and physical healthcare needs met and were encouraged to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Staff made appropriate use of a range of health professionals and followed their advice when provided to promote the health and well-being of people using the service.
The manager assessed and monitored the quality of care consistently. In addition to regular observations of staff, the manager consulted people in the home, their relatives and professional visitors to find out their views on the care provided.
The provider encouraged feedback from people who lived in the home, their family members, advocates and professional visitors, which they used to make improvements to the service.