About the service:

Woolston Road provides accommodation and personal care for up to six people who have learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder. At the time of the inspection six people were living at the home.

Rating at last inspection:

Good (published 13 August 2016).

Why we inspected:

This inspection was a scheduled inspection based on the previous rating.

People’s experience of using this service:

People told us they were happy, felt safe and that staff had a good understanding of their needs and preferences. Staff listened to what people wanted and acted quickly to support them to achieve their goals and aspirations. Staff were innovative and looked to offer people solutions to aid their independence and develop their skills.

People had good community networks which were personal to them. This included work opportunities, day service and supporting people to use technology to connect with family and friends. People had been supported to develop and maintain positive relationships with friends and family. Equality, Diversity and Human Rights (EDHR) were promoted and understood by staff.

Staff were well trained and skilled. They worked with people to overcome challenges and promote their independence. The emphasis of support was towards enabling people to learn essential life skills. Staff encouraged positive risk taking so people could experience new things and develop. This had led to people feeling fulfilled and living an active life.

People and their families described the staff as caring, kind and friendly and the atmosphere of the home as relaxed and engaging. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Leadership was visible and promoted good teamwork. People, professionals and staff spoke highly about the management and staff had a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. The registered manager and staff team worked together in a positive way to support people to achieve their own goals and to be safe. Checks of safety and quality were made to ensure people were protected. Work to continuously improve was noted and the registered manager was keen to make changes that would impact positively on people's lives.

The service met the values that underpin the 'Registering the Right Support' and other best practice guidance such as 'Building the Right Support'. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. Also, how people with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

A full description of our findings can be found in the sections below.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

This inspection visit took place on 5 July 2016 and was unannounced.

Woolston Road provides accommodation and personal care for up to eight people who have learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder. There were six people using the service at the time of this inspection.

The service has a registered manager. 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.

The last inspection took place on 20 and 26 May 2015. As a result of this inspection, we found the provider in breach of one regulation relating to staff training and support and asked them to submit an action plan on how they would address the breach. An action plan was submitted by the provider which identified the steps that would be taken. At this inspection, we found that the provider and registered manager had taken appropriate action and required standards were now being met. The registered manager had also made improvements in relation to risk management and the management of medicines.

Staff received training and support to help ensure people’s needs and behaviours were responded to effectively and staff were confident in their approaches.

The systems for managing medicines had been improved and were being operated effectively. Risk management procedures were followed in line with the home’s policy and procedure.

Care and support plans were personalised and were being reviewed and updated, which supported staff to respond in a timely and effective manner to people’s needs. Health issues were acted upon and recorded.

Staff supported people to take planned risks to promote their independence. Staff were trained in how to recognise and respond to abuse and understood their responsibility to report any concerns to the management team.

Safe recruitment practices were followed and appropriate checks had been undertaken, which made sure only suitable staff were employed to care for people in the home. There were sufficient numbers of experienced staff to meet the needs of people currently using the service.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) which apply to care homes. The registered manager understood when an application should be made and how to submit one

People were supported to eat and drink enough to meet their needs and were involved in menu planning and in cooking their own meals.

We saw staff were responsive to people’s needs and listened to what they said. The provider and registered manager sought feedback from people about the service and had a process in place to deal with any complaints or concerns.

There was an effective system of quality and safety audits that was used to drive improvements.

This inspection visit took place on 20 and 26 May 2015 and was unannounced.

Woolston Road provides accommodation and personal care for up to eight people who have learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder. There were four people using the service at the time of this inspection.

The service has a registered manager. 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.

The systems in place to help ensure that medicines were managed safely were not always implemented effectively. Risk management procedures were not consistently followed in line with the home’s policy and procedure.

The service did not always arrange training and support to help ensure changes to people’s needs and behaviours were responded to effectively and staff were confident in their approaches.

Care and support plans were personalised but did not always contain current information, which would support staff to respond in a timely and effective manner to people’s needs. Some identified health issues had not always been acted upon and recorded.

The system of quality and safety audits was not always sufficiently robust to drive improvements.

Staff supported people to take planned risks to promote their independence. Staff were trained in how to recognise and respond to abuse and understood their responsibility to report any concerns to the management team.

Safe recruitment practices were followed and appropriate checks had been undertaken, which made sure only suitable staff were employed to care for people in the home. There were sufficient numbers of experienced staff to meet the needs of people currently using the service.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) which apply to care homes. The registered manager understood when an application should be made and how to submit one

People were supported to eat and drink enough to meet their needs and were involved in menu planning and in cooking their own meals.

We saw staff were responsive to people’s needs and listened to what they said. There was a complaints procedure in place and people told us that they were aware of how to make a complaint.

People spoke positively about the manager and staff and how the home was run. The registered manager promoted a positive and open culture within the service, which encouraged people’s involvement.

We found one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.