Archived: Pound Farm

Updated 5 May 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 25 and 26 February 2016 and was unannounced.

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors.

Before our inspection we reviewed information we held about the service. We looked at our own system to see if we had received any concerns or compliments about the home. We analysed information on statutory notifications we had received from the provider. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.

We asked the local authority and Healthwatch for any information they had which would aid our inspection.

We spoke with six people receiving support, the registered manager and five support workers, one team leader, one volunteer and two people completing a quality review. We viewed the personal development plans for two people, including assessments of risk, consent and medicines. We saw records of quality checks completed by the provider including monthly reports completed by the registered manager.

Updated 5 May 2016

This inspection took place on 25 and 26 February 2016 and was unannounced.

Pound Farm provides accommodation and personal care for adults with a learning disability. It has the capacity for 15 people to live there in one of their five flats Acorn, Rowan, Beach, Sycamore and Cedars. At this inspection 14 people were living there.

A registered manager was in post and was present during our inspection. 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 safe as staff had been trained and understood how to support people in a way that protected them from danger, harm and abuse. People were involved in their own risk assessments and were able to make informed choices about what they wanted to do.

There were enough staff to support people and to meet their needs. The provider had systems in place to adapt to the changing needs of people and to make provision for additional staffing when required. Before staff could start work the provider undertook checks to ensure they were safe to work with people.

The provider helped people to administer their own medicines. When people could not administer their own medicines they were supported by staff who were trained to safely administer medicines. The provider undertook checks to ensure people and staff were following safe procedures when administering medicines.

Staff had the skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs. Staff were supported in their roles by the provider and attended training that was relevant to the people they supported. Staff were supported by the provider and the registered manager who promoted an open and transparent culture.

People were involved in decisions about their day to day care. People were supported by staff who understood and took steps to ensure their rights were upheld. Staff provided care and support which was personalised and respected people’s likes and dislikes. People took part in activities they liked and found stimulating. People were involved in the day to day running of their home.

People were supported by staff who knew them well and had good relationships with them. Staff made sure people were involved in their own care and information was given to them in a way they could understand. People’s independence was encouraged and staff respected their privacy and dignity.

People had a choice of food to eat and were prompted to maintain a healthy balanced diet. People’s routine health needs were looked after and people had access to healthcare when they needed it.

People and staff felt able to express their views and felt their opinions mattered. The provider and registered manager undertook regular quality checks in order to drive improvements. The provider engaged people from another service to visit and complete quality checks as part of a peer review scheme. When needed improvements were made.