27 April 2016
During a routine inspection
At the time of our inspection 28 people used the service.
There was a registered manager in place at the time of 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 lived in a safe environment as staff knew how to protect people from harm. We found that staff recognised signs of abuse and knew how to report this. Staff made sure risk assessments were in place and took actions to minimise risks without taking away people’s right to make decisions.
People told us there were enough staff to help them when they needed them. Staff told us there were enough staff to provide safe care and support to people. Advanced planning meant that staffing levels were reviewed and reflected the needs of people who used the service. People’s medicines were checked and managed in a safe way.
People received care and support that met their needs and preferences. Care and support was provided to people with their consent and agreement. Staff understood and recognised the importance of this. We found people were supported to eat a healthy balanced diet and were supported with enough fluids to keep them healthy. We found that staff supported people with access to healthcare professionals, such as their doctor or hospital appointments.
We saw people were involved in the planning around their care. People’s views and decisions they had made about their care were listened and acted upon. People told us that staff treated them kindly, with dignity and their privacy was respected.
We found that people knew how to make a complaint and felt comfortable to do this should they feel they needed to. Where the provider had received complaints, these had been responded to. Learning had been taken from complaints received and actions were put into place to address these.
Staff felt supported by the registered manager to carry out their roles and responsibilities effectively.
We found that the checks the registered manager completed focused upon the experiences people received. Where areas for improvement were identified, systems were in place to ensure that lessons were learnt and used to improve staff practice.