Archived: The Dell

Updated 14 August 2015

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 12 March 2015 and was unannounced. The inspection was undertaken by two inspectors.

Before the inspection, we asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We reviewed the PIR and previous inspection reports to help us plan what areas we were going to focus on during our inspection. We also looked at information we held about the service including notifications they had made to us about important events. We also reviewed all other information sent to us from other stakeholders for example the local authority and members of the public.

We spoke with two visiting professionals to the service. We observed the care and support provided to people and the interaction between staff and people throughout our inspection.

We looked at records in relation to seven people’s care. We spoke with the registered manager, the deputy manager, eight members of staff, including care, maintenance and activities staff. We looked at records relating to the management of the service, four staff recruitment records, training, and systems for monitoring the quality of the service.

Updated 14 August 2015

The Dell provides accommodation and personal care for up to 48 people with learning disabilities who require 24 hour support and care.

There were 40 people living in the service when we inspected on 12 March 2015. This was an unannounced inspection.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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, or their representatives, were involved in making decisions about their care and support. People’s care plans identified how their individual needs were met and contained information about how they communicated. The provider and the registered manager understood the recent changes to the law regarding the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and had taken appropriate action to ensure the least restrictive options were considered when deciding to implement any restrictions on people.

There were procedures in place which safeguarded the people who used the service from the potential risk of abuse. Staff understood the various types of abuse and knew who to report any concerns to.

There were procedures and processes in place to ensure the safety of the people who used the service. These included checks on the environment and risk assessments which identified how the risks to people were minimised.

There were sufficient numbers of staff with the knowledge and skills to meet people’s needs.

Staff had good relationships with people who used the service and were attentive to their needs. Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity and interacted with people in a caring, respectful and professional manner.

People were supported to see, when needed, health and social care professionals to make sure they received appropriate care and treatment.

People’s nutritional needs were being assessed and met. Where concerns were identified about a person’s food intake appropriate referrals had been made for specialist advice and support.

A complaints procedure was in place. People’s concerns and complaints were addressed and used to improve the service.

Staff understood their roles and responsibilities in providing safe and good quality care to the people who used the service. The service had a robust quality assurance system and regularly sought the views of both internal and external stakeholders about the quality of the service.