Archived: Forestview

Forestview is a residential home for adults with learning disabilities. It provides accommodation for up to eight people. There were seven people living there at the time of our inspection. The home is a bungalow with a communal lounge and dining room and an accessible kitchen. The service is run by the White Horse Care Trust.

People’s experience of using this service:

Forestview has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin Registering the Right Support, Building the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

Relatives told us their family member was safe at Forestview. Staff had received safeguarding training and knew when and how to raise concerns.

People were protected from risks. There were various risk assessments in place for each person giving guidance to staff to reduce the risks identified. Risk assessments were reviewed regularly or when people’s needs changed.

There were sufficient numbers of staff on duty. Permanent staff were still being recruited but consistent agency and bank staff who knew people well, were being used. Staff had been recruited safely with all the appropriate checks in place.

Medicines were administered, stored and managed safely. Audits identified no errors in the months preceding the inspection.

Forestview was clean, tidy and homely and suited to the needs of people living there. People had individualised rooms with their personal items and favourite colours and décor.

People’s needs were thoroughly assessed by a multi-disciplinary team of specialist professionals within the learning disabilities service. People had access to health care and hospital treatment when needed.

Staff were trained in all of the providers mandatory areas and had the ability to access on line, face to face or group training. New staff had a robust and supported induction period. Some formal one to one supervision and appraisals were behind schedule but staff had regular informal ‘job chats’.

The service had improved to good in caring. The staff were very caring and knew people, their preferences likes and dislikes well. Staff took pride in the standard of care they provided. We received good feedback from relatives and visiting professionals about the quality of care and the quality time staff spent with people.

The service had improved to good in responsive. Care plans were person centred and were regularly reviewed and updated. They were all being actively reviewed at the time of the inspection ready for transfer to an efficient electronic version.

When people’s needs changed the appropriate referrals were made to re-assess and devise new strategies to support them effectively. The staff had regular meetings and discussions with health and social care professionals to ensure the right care was being provided.

There was a clear and supportive management structure in place. Quality assurance, audits and monitoring were undertaken by several layers of management. This meant that areas identified for improvement were acted upon in a timely manner.

Rating at last inspection: Requires Improvement (report published 28 March 2018).

Why we inspected: This was a planned comprehensive inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Follow up: We will monitor all intelligence about the service to inform when the next inspection should take place.

At the last inspection in January 2016, the service was rated as ‘Good’. At this inspection we found the service was ‘Requires Improvement’.

A registered manager was employed by the service but was not 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. Our inspection was supported by two deputy managers and an area care manager who has responsibility for overseeing the services within the Trust.

Forestview has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support, Building the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

During our last inspection we found the service was responsive to people’s needs and wishes. However during this inspection we found that some care plans had not been updated and monitoring records were not always completed.

Quality audits and monitoring to ensure improvements to the service were identified and acted upon had been completed. However, the areas identified at this inspection had not been prioritised and completed.

There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs who had been through a satisfactory recruitment process. Staff felt supported in their roles, they had access to refresher training to keep their knowledge and skills up to date. Staff were knowledgeable about people, their backgrounds and individual needs. They treated people with respect and in a kind and caring manner. Staff understood how to keep people safe and were confident any concerns they raised would be listened to and the appropriate action taken in response.

Accidents and incidents were recorded and checked by the deputy managers to see what steps, if any, could be taken to prevent them from happening again. Staff were trained in the safe management of people’s behaviours which may cause harm to themselves or others.

People using the service needed support with their communication and were not able to tell us their views about the care and support they received. We observed that people were happy and relaxed in the presence of staff. Those people who were able to did not hesitate to seek support which staff responded to.

People were able to make choices about what they ate and drank. They had access to sufficient food and drink. People were able to choose each day what they wanted to eat. Choices were varied to ensure people maintained a balanced diet.

Staff worked alongside other health and social care professionals to ensure people’s healthcare needs were met. People’s medicines were stored securely and administered safely.

People were encouraged and supported to be involved in making daily choices where they were able. Mental capacity assessments were completed as required and in line with legal requirements.

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

One relative of a person living at the home said 'It doesn't matter which staff are on, they're all very friendly and helpful and attentive to people's needs'. Another relative said 'staff are wonderful'.

People who use the service were protected from the risk of abuse, because the provider had taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent abuse from happening.

People were cared for in a clean, hygienic environment.

One relative said 'I could raise any issues; I have a good rapport with the staff. They often ask if there is anything I want changed'.

We looked at three care plans and saw people's capacity to make decisions had been considered and recorded. We saw care plans contained information about people's daily routines and how they preferred to be supported.

Two relatives we spoke with said they felt there were enough staff on duty to ensure their family member was able to participate in activities.

We saw in a relatives satisfaction survey, completed in 2012, all respondents confirmed they were aware of the procedure to follow if they needed to make a complaint or raise a concern.