Archived: Warrington Road

Updated 24 June 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 checked 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.

The inspection took place on 2 May 2017and was unannounced. We also made telephone contact with relatives of people who used the service on 11 May 2017.

The inspection was undertaken by one adult social care inspector.

Before the inspection, we checked information that we held about the service and the service provider. This included information from other agencies and statutory notifications sent to us by the registered manager about incidents and events that had occurred at the service. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law. We contacted the local quality assurance team who told us that the service was subject to an improvement plan. We used all this information to decide which areas to focus on during our inspection.

During the inspection, we visited two of the bungalows at Warrington Road and spoke with five people who used the service. We contacted three relatives over the telephone to seek their views of the service. The people living in the service had a variety of methods of communication. Some people were able to tell us what they thought about the service verbally, others could indicate by gestures or by using a communication board.

We also spoke with four members of support staff, a team coordinator and the registered manager. We checked three people's care records and three medicines administration records (MARs). We checked records relating to how the service is run and monitored, such as training, safeguarding and health and safety records. We reviewed three staff recruitment files.Throughout the inspection, we observed how staff supported people with their care during the day.

Updated 24 June 2017

This inspection took place on 2 May 2017 and was unannounced. On the 11 May 2017 we contacted people’s relatives by telephone to seek their views about the service. At the last inspection in June 2015, we found the service met all the regulations we looked at and was rated as good.

102 – 108 Warrington Road is a purpose built care home providing personal care and accommodation for up to 12 people who have a physical disability. The service consists of four linked bungalows each accommodating three people. The home is located in a residential area of Widnes and is within easy access of the local amenities. The property is owned by a housing trust and managed by Scope. At the time of the inspection there were 12 people living at the service.

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.

We found that people and their relatives were positive and complimentary about the support they received from the service. People lived in a comfortable environment and indicated they were happy and well treated.

We found that there had previously been some shortfalls in the safe management of medicines. A recent medication audit had highlighted some areas of good practice but also a number of areas where improvements were required. The service had been working on some of these issues and had taken immediate action to address these . We recommend that the service continues to monitor closely to ensure that these improvements are sustained.

Staff knew how to protect people from the risk of abuse or harm. They followed appropriate guidance to minimise identified risks to people's health, safety and welfare. Staffing levels had recently been increased and there were enough staff to keep people safe.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The service was compliant with The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA 2005). Staff received appropriate training and were supported by the registered manager through supervision and meetings, to enable them to meet people's needs effectively. Staff who had transferred had been included within the training matrix and the management were working to ensure that training and competency assessments were refreshed for these staff over the next few weeks.

People’s preferences around food were respected and drinks were offered throughout the day, with people being given choices about their drinks. People were also encouraged to make healthy choices. We found that staff had a good understanding about people’s nutritional needs and that instructions and guidance were detailed within their support plans.

People told us that they were well cared for. A number of staff had worked at the service for several years and had developed effective relationships with the people they supported.. It was evident from the discussions we had with people who used the service that they were treated with respect and dignity.

We found that people were involved in deciding how the care and support staff were to help them. Staff told us people and their families were involved in discussions about their care. Details about supporting people to be part of decision making were included in people’s support plans and people told us they felt involved in making decisions.

People received care that was personalised and responsive to their needs. We saw that assessments of people's needs had been completed prior to them using the service and this information had been used to develop their support plans. People’s goals and aspirations were considered as part of the support planning. The service promoted inclusion and supported people to take part in activities which reflected their interests.

The service had a complaints procedure in place and the registered manager kept an electronic record of any complaints received and how they had been dealt with. People spoken with told us that they felt able to raise any concerns should they need to and knew how they could go about this.

We found that the service was well-led. Staff were motivated and positive about the management of the service and told us that they could approach the registered manager with any concerns. The registered manager told us they were keen to continue to improve the service and were working towards a service improvement plan. We found that staff had a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Quality assurance systems were in place to monitor the service.