Archived: Valentines Way

Valentines Way is a residential care home who were providing support with personal care to four people with learning disabilities or on the autistic spectrum at the time of the inspection. The service can support a maximum of four people. Each person has their own bedroom, and other facilities are shared.

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

Systems were in place to protect people from the risk of abuse. Risk assessments had been carried out to identify the risks people faced. These included information about how to mitigate those risks. Steps had been taken to help ensure the physical environment was safe. There were enough staff working at the service to meet people’s needs and the provider had robust staff recruitment practices in place. Medicines were mostly managed in a safe way. Infection control and prevention systems were in place. Accidents and incidents were reviewed to see if any lessons could be learnt from them.

Assessments were carried out of people’s needs prior to the provision of care to determine if their needs could be met at the service. Staff were supported through training and supervision to gain knowledge and skills to help them in their role. People were supported to eat a balanced diet and were able to choose what they ate. The premises were clean and well maintained. People had access to health care professionals.

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 told us staff were caring and that they were treated with respect. Staff understood how to support people in a way that promoted their privacy, independence and dignity. The service sought to meet people's needs in relation to equality and diversity.

Care plans were in place for people, which set out how to meet their needs in a person-centred way. Information was provided to people in a way that was accessible to them. Systems were in place for dealing with complaints, although the provider told us there had not been any complaints in the past year. People had been unable to participate in some of their preferred community-based activities due to government restrictions related to COVID-19. However, they had been supported to engage in a variety of in-house activities, and community-based activities were beginning to re-commence.

Quality assurance and monitoring systems were in place to help drive improvements at the service. People and staff told us there was an open and positive culture at the service. People were supported to express their views. The provider was aware of their legal obligations, and worked with other agencies to develop best practice and share knowledge.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. The model of care and the setting maximised people's choice, control and independence. Care was person-centred and promoted people's dignity, privacy and human rights. The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensured people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives.

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 12 November 2018).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

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.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

This was the first inspection of the service since it was registered with CQC in December 2017.

The service does not need to have a registered manager in place as it is managed by an individual who is registered as the sole provider. 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 told us they felt safe. The provider had systems in place to ensure risks to people were assessed, reviewed and managed appropriately. Risk assessments of the premises were completed. There was regular maintenance and tests of the facilities and equipment. These included regular tests of fire alarms and emergency lights to ensure they were safe. Staff followed the provider’s control of infection procedures to minimise risk of spread of infections.

Medicines were received, stored, administered and audited safely to people. Staff had training and experience of administering medicines.

The provider reduced and managed incidents and accidents by monitoring and drawing lessons from them.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. The staff recruitment processes were robust ensuring that new staff were checked and were safe to support people.

There were arrangements to ensure staff received induction, ongoing training, support and supervision to undertake their roles effectively.

Staff had been trained in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and people's care plans showed mental capacity assessments had been completed and applications for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) were made to local authorities.

Care plans were person-centred describing people’s support needs such as their physical, social, emotional, cultural and spiritual support needs. Staff were aware of and able to support and meet people’s needs.

People’s nutritional needs were met. People could choose, prepare and enjoy meals that met their cultural and religious preferences and health needs.

People had opportunities to engage in activities provided within and outside the service.

Staff supported people to access healthcare services. They supported them to have medical checks and attend appointments.

People and relatives knew how to make a complaint. The provider recorded, investigated and responded to complaints. One complaint had been recorded, investigated and responded to since the service was registered.

The provider sought feedback from people and relatives to ensure their views were used to improve the service. Health and safety audits, and other aspects of the service such as staffing levels, training and care plans were regularly undertaken to ensure the service ran well. A business continuity plan was in place to enable the service to deal with unforeseen circumstances and continue to deliver a service.