Archived: St Saviours Road

Updated 21 April 2017

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.

We told the registered manager the evening before our visit that we would be coming. We did this because St Saviours provides care for younger adults who are often out during the day and we needed to be sure that someone would be in. The inspection took place on 28 February and 02 March 2017.

When planning the inspection visit we took account of the size of the service and that some people at the home could find visitors unsettling. As a result, this inspection was carried out by an inspector without an expert by experience or specialist advisor.

Before our inspection the provider had completed 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 information we held about the home, including previous inspection reports. We looked at notifications which had been submitted. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law.

During the inspection we reviewed the records of the home. These included staff files including staff recruitment, training and supervision records, medicine records complaint records, accidents and incidents, quality audits and policies and procedures along with information in regards to the upkeep of the premises. We also looked at two support plans and risk assessments along with other relevant documentation to support our findings.

During the inspection, we spoke with three staff members including the registered manager and senior support worker. In addition, we requested feedback from healthcare professionals who had contact with people living at Saviours Road. We received feedback from one visiting health professional.

We met with people who lived at St Saviour’s Road. We observed the support which was delivered in communal areas to get a view of care and support provided across all areas. People chose to communicate verbally with staff and others who knew them well. We spent time sitting and observing people in areas throughout the home and were able to see the interaction between people and staff. This helped us understand the experience of people living at St Saviours.

Updated 21 April 2017

St Saviours Road provides accommodation for up to four younger adults who live with autistic spectrum disorders. There were three men living at the home at the time of our inspection. They had a range of complex care needs associated with living with autism and mental health needs. People had complex communication needs and required staff who knew them well to meet their needs. St Saviours Road is run by Autism Sussex Limited who run a number of care homes and outreach services in the county.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

This comprehensive announced inspection was carried out on 28 February and 02 March 2017.

At our last inspection in January 2016 we identified areas where improvements could be made. These areas related to the management of medicines and record keeping related to risk assessments and fire safety. In addition a number of the policies and procedures were out of date. At this inspection all these areas had been addressed. People’s individual support plans contained information that was no longer relevant. This was not a concern in that all staff working in the home knew people exceptionally well and had worked in the home a long time. However, the registered manager was aware that this was an area that needed to be addressed.

The registered manager and staff had a very strong understanding of their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). The MCA and DoLS are regulations that have to be followed to ensure that people who cannot make decisions for themselves are protected. They also ensured that people were not having their freedom restricted or deprived unnecessarily.

Staff had an extremely good understanding of people as individuals, their needs and interests. Some people attended day centres and people were also supported with daily activities both within and outside of the home. Significant progress had been made in increasing and expanding the variety of activities of offer to people. Staff were acutely aware of people’s individual needs in relation to activities and supported people in a way that suited them. Staff were kind and caring in their approach and spoke with people in a way people could understand. People responded warmly to this.

Staff ensured that people were supported to be as independent as possible and they adapted their approach based on each person’s strengths and weaknesses. This included the provision of opportunities for people to develop skills in meal preparation and daily living tasks. Staff support was provided in line with people’s needs.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Risk assessments were carried out to ensure that people were safe and that staff had clear guidance on how to support them. Staff knew what actions to take to mitigate these risks and provide a safe environment for people to live in. Staff understood what they needed to do to protect people from the risk of abuse. Appropriate checks had taken place before staff were employed to ensure they were able to work safely with people at the home.

Staff attended regular supervision meetings and told us they were very well supported by the management of the home. Staff meetings were used to ensure that staff were kept up to date on the running of the home and to hear their views on day to day issues. Staff attended regular training to ensure they could meet people’s needs. This included training on various aspects of autism. There was a thorough induction to the service and staff felt confident to meet people’s needs before they worked independently.

People were supported to have healthy and nutritious diets that were varied and met their individual choices. They were also supported to attend healthcare appointments in line with their individual needs.

The provider had good systems to monitor the management and quality of the home and through regular internal monitoring the registered manager ensured that a range of audits were carried out to monitor the care and support provided. Where shortfalls had been identified they were addressed in a timely manner.