18 October 2016
During a routine inspection
The service is located in a large terraced house with access to a back garden.
There is no inspection history for this service as a new provider took over the running of the service in October 2014.
At the time of the inspection there was a registered manager in place. 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.
Medicines were administered safely but the temperature for storage was not routinely recorded. This was of concern as the efficacy for some medicines is reduced if they are stored outside of the specified storage temperature range. Following the inspection the temperature at which medicines is stored is now being recorded daily.
There was a calm and relaxed atmosphere at the service on the day of the inspection. We saw staff talking and working with people in a calm and respectful manner.
People told us they felt safe and that the home was a good place to live. Staff were aware of the importance of safeguarding adults and knew what to do if they had any concerns.
People living at the service were independent and went out to meet friends and participate in hobbies and activities without support. Staff offered assistance with appointments where required, monitored and supported people with their mental health needs and ensured they had appropriate additional professional support if their needs changed.
The service was clean and food was stored and labelled hygienically.
Risk assessments were up to date, detailed, and provided advice for staff to manage identified risks. The needs of people at the service were extremely complex and staff demonstrated skills in managing those people’s needs and risk behaviours in a sensitive manner.
Staff had been carefully recruited and we could see that regular supervision took place with staff. Staff told us they felt supported and there was always management support available.
The registered manager was very experienced and knowledgeable regarding the needs of the people living at the service and provided outstanding leadership to the staff team. His knowledge and skills in providing training in health improvement issues were utilised across the provider’s other services and this was positive for all the people living at the services. Some people had given up smoking as a result of the training and support.
The registered manager had efficient, effective quality monitoring systems in place and so the service was very well led. In addition senior managers undertook quality assurance audits on a three monthly basis and provided feedback to the registered manager.
There was a record of essential inspections and maintenance carried out.
We have made a recommendation in relation to the recording of training for staff.