Archived: Wallace Crescent

We found the following examples of good practice.

The service had systems to ensure visits happened safely, including a Visitor Champion to manage visit bookings, health screening for visitors and a one-way in and out system so visitors could move safely through the service.

Staff supported people to continue accessing the local community. They prepared bags with hand sanitiser, masks and other items to help people stay safe while out.

The service had easy-read information for people with COVID-19 guidance, including how to keep themselves and others safe, visiting arrangements and staying in touch with families, and where to find more information and support.

Where people found social distancing difficult because of their care needs or found it distressing to see staff wearing masks, staff found creative ways of working with them to help them stay safe while ensuring their needs were met.

The service worked well in partnership with other services to make sure people moving into the service received safe and appropriate care during the transition. This included assessing whether people had capacity to make certain decisions about their care such as receiving COVID-19 vaccinations, and working with other services to decide what was in people’s best interests.

People and staff received regular COVID-19 tests and the provider had a system to monitor this and check tests were completed at the prescribed frequency.

The provider had robust support systems for staff, particularly around risk assessment and returning to work after sickness.

The service’s IPC policies including visiting and admissions policies were up to date with the latest guidance around COVID-19.

Wallace Crescent is a residential care home providing personal care to eight people with learning disabilities and mental health support needs at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to eight people in self-contained single-occupancy flats within the home, with communal spaces also available for people to use.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People benefited from being cared for by staff who were exceptionally well trained and supported to provide effective care that led to positive outcomes for people. The service worked alongside specialists and healthcare professionals to assess people’s needs holistically and deliver positive outcomes. This included the use of technology to gather data to help staff understand people’s needs better. People had support to plan their own personal menus according to their needs, tastes and preferences. Staff understood people’s health needs and promoted good outcomes and quality of life for people. The home environment was set up in an innovative way that promoted people’s independence and reflected their individual needs and preferences.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People received person-centred care that focused on what was most important to them and took into account their diverse needs. Care plans were in different formats to suit people's needs, including innovative and unique formats that were particularly meaningful to people. People were strongly involved in reviewing care plans regularly to keep them up to date. Staff supported people to set and achieve goals for themselves. People had opportunities to take part in a variety of activities that were meaningful to them and tailored to their interests and abilities. Staff supported people to maintain relationships that were important to them. The provider dealt with people’s complaints in a thorough, prompt and fair way.

There were systems and processes to protect people from the risk of abuse. The provider managed risks in a person-centred way to keep people safe from harm while restricting their freedom as little as possible. When things did go wrong, there were systems to learn from this and prevent incidents from happening again. There were regular checks to make sure the environment was safe and infection control procedures were followed. There were enough staff and safer recruitment processes to ensure the staff were suitable to care for people. Medicines were managed appropriately.

People received care and support from staff who were kind, empathetic and respectful. Staff took the time to get to know people well and understand their preferences and wishes. The service strongly promoted equality and diversity and we saw many examples of this. Staff used different methods to support people to express their views and make choices about their care, depending on how people communicated and what worked best for them. People’s care promoted their privacy, dignity and independence.

People benefited from a service with strong management and leadership, with an open, inclusive and person-centred culture. The provider consulted people, their relatives and staff as part of their ongoing programme of assessing the quality of the service and making improvements. There was a robust governance system with good oversight from the provider to make sure the service continued to provide a high standard of care to people. The provider worked well in partnership with others.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 2 June 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Wallace Crescent provides self-contained accommodation and support for up to eight people with learning disabilities and/or autism, and mental health needs. At the time of our inspection six people were using the service.

The previous registered manager left the service in March 2017. A new manager had been appointed and they had begun their application to become registered. 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.

Under the previous provider the service was rated ‘good’. At this inspection we found the service continued to be rated ‘good’ for all five key questions.

Staff were aware of their responsibilities to safeguard people from harm and supported people to understand the risks to their safety and welfare. Staff regularly assessed the risks to people’s safety and management plans were developed to minimise the risk. There were sufficient staff to keep people safe and ensure they received the level of support they required, at the service and in the community. Safe recruitment practices were in place to ensure suitable staff were in post. Medicines were managed safely and people received their medicines as prescribed.

There were a range of training courses available to ensure staff had the knowledge and skills to undertake their duties. Staff understood their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and only deprived people of their liberty when legally authorised to do so and when it was in their best interests. Staff provided people with information about maintaining a balanced diet and ensure they ate sufficient amounts. Staff liaised with healthcare professionals as required to ensure people’s health needs were met.

Staff were knowledgeable about the people they were supporting and what was important to them. They engaged people in a kind and friendly manner. Staff were aware of people’s communication methods and ensured their requests were understood. People were encouraged to make choices and day to day decisions. Staff maintained people’s privacy and dignity.

People received the support they required. Detailed care records were in place to inform staff about how to meet people’s needs and the level of support they required. This included information about people’s preferences for how they were supported and what was important to them. Staff encouraged people to learn new skills and maintain their independence. Staff also supported people to work towards the goals they wanted to achieve whilst at the service. There were processes in place to manage any complaints they arose.

Staff felt well supported by the new manager in post. There were processes in place for staff to discuss service delivery and learn from each other about how best to support individuals. There were open and honest conversations amongst staff to reflect on service delivery. Systems were in place to review the quality of the service and where improvements were required these were made in a timely manner. The manager adhered to the requirements of the service’s registration with the Care Quality Commission, including submitting statutory notifications.