Archived: 5 George V Avenue

5 George V Avenue is a residential care home, providing accommodation and personal care for five people with learning disabilities. This is a family run service, in which the registered manager and family share their home and lives with the people they support and care for. At the time of the inspection there were four people using the service.

Service type

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

People’s experience of using this service

People received outstanding highly responsive care from staff who valued everyone’s uniqueness. People’s well-being was enhanced as a result of the way staff responded to their needs. Staff worked with people in an inclusive and empowering way and with families in full partnership, where appropriate. People enjoyed a range of activities that encouraged social interaction. People received highly personalised end of life care.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

Medicines were safely managed. We have made a recommendation that the provider consult and implement best practice guidance on assessing staff competency to administer medicines.

People and their relatives told us they felt safe at the home. Staff understood their roles in safeguarding people from harm, abuse or discrimination. Risks to people were identified and assessed. There was guidance for staff on how to manage these risks safely. There was a process to identify learning from accidents, incidents and safeguarding concerns. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and safe recruitment practices were in place.

People were asked for their consent before care was provided. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff were supported to ensure they had suitable skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs. Staff worked closely with health professionals to ensure people’s health needs were identified and met. People’s nutritional needs were assessed and supported.

The home had been was adapted to meet the range of needs of the people living there.

People and their relatives were highly complimentary of the care provided. They told us staff consistently treated them with dignity and respect and encouraged their independence. People were involved in decision making about their care and support. There was an accessible complaints system and people had information made available in a format that met their needs.

The registered manager promoted an open culture of empowerment, communication and inclusiveness. They worked proactively with other agencies and was visible as an effective leader. Staff told us they enjoyed their work and that the registered manager was approachable and supportive.

The home engaged with a range of community groups and people accessed the community regularly. There was a system to monitor the quality and safety of the service and any learning was identified and acted on. People’s and their relatives’ views about the service were asked for and acted on in order to drive improvements.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Rating at last inspection:

The last rating for this service was good (published 27 July 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

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

5 George V Avenue is a residential care home for five people with learning disabilities.

Rating at last inspection

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good.

Rating at this inspection

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated Good

People told us they were happy living at the service and that it was well managed. The service was small and family run and there was inclusive culture. 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. There were always enough staff to keep people safe. Risks relating to people’s care and support were assessed and mitigated and people were supported to be as independent as possible.

People told us that staff were kind and caring. Staff treated people with respect and dignity. People were working towards goals such as saving money for their holiday and doing more things for themselves. Relatives told us they were proud of the things their loved ones had achieved since living at the service. People led active lives and we were shown pictures of the things they enjoyed doing, such as driving a horse and carriage, dancing and going on trips to London and to local farms.

People were encouraged to access the kitchen whenever they wanted and were able to prepare their own drinks whenever they wished. They were supported to shop for and prepare meals of their choosing. Staff had made prompt referrals to healthcare professionals when they needed additional support and advice. People and their relatives told us they saw a doctor when they were unwell and received their medicines when they needed them.

Staff knew how to recognise and respond to abuse and the registered manager had reported any safeguarding concerns to the local authority. Action had been taken to ensure they did not occur again. Small concerns raised by relatives were documented as complaints and responded to appropriately. People and their relatives told us they were happy with the support provided. Regular feedback was sought from people and their relatives. All the feedback we saw was positive, and included comments such as, “More than satisfied with present care and [my relative’s] lovely lifestyle has much improved, therefore, cannot think of any improvements.”

Staff received appropriate training and were supported by the registered manager to carry out their roles effectively. The registered manager completed a range of checks on the service, including care plan reviews, environmental checks and weekly audits of medicines to ensure people were safe. Regular fire drills were held so people knew how to evacuate the service in an emergency. Staff were recruited safely. The Care Quality Commission had been notified of important events within the service, as required by law.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

We found that the service had assessed, planned and reviewed the support and care provided. Relatives that we spoke with told us that the standard of care had been very good. One relative described the service as, 'outstanding'; another remarked that they, 'thanked God they (person using the service) was being so well looked after'.

We were told by relatives of people using the service that they were confident their relative was kept safe whilst having excellent opportunities to enjoy an active outgoing life. One relative remarked that they had 'slept at night knowing that they (person using the service) were safe'. We found that the provider who was also the registered manager had taken appropriate action to help safeguard people who used the service.

We found that the service was carried on from safe and suitable premises. We found that the provider had taken action to eliminate, reduce and manage hazards and risk. Relatives told us that they were pleased with the standard of accommodation and facilities provided.

We found that the provider had considered information gathered from observations, monitoring and feedback and had sought to develop practice. The provider had through their continuous and close involvement in the provision of services maintained a suitable overview of standards.

All the people who use the service spoken with expressed a great deal of satisfaction from living within the service and did not raise any concerns about the quality of care. They told us that if they were not happy they would speak to the manager. We had the opportunity to speak with many of the people who lived within the service and they all expressed satisfaction with regard to the quality of care. One person said he enjoyed helping out and doing the shopping and cooking. He spoke of how staff supported him to do the activities he enjoyed. Another person spoke of how the service was supporting him with his medical needs with regard to hospital appointments etc.