Archived: Warrington Road

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.

Menus and shopping for food were planned and undertaken with the people who lived in each bungalow. This was done by discussing likes/dislikes and what people felt like eating. This provided a very flexible menu for people.

We saw that policies and procedures were in place to help ensure that people's medication was being managed appropriately and we did not identify any concerns with the system in place and any medication being administered was being given as prescribed.

We did not have any concerns regarding either the numbers or suitability of the staff members working at the home.

Information about the quality of service provided was gathered on a continuous and on-going basis with direct feedback from the people using the service.

During our inspection we saw there was good communication and understanding between the members of staff and the people who were receiving care and support from them. We observed people being supported with their daily life activities for example helping to plan a holiday. The people we met with appeared relaxed, comfortable and at ease with the staff. It was evident staff had a good understanding of what was important to each person, for example, preferred clothes, preferred meals and social arrangements.

Information about the safety and quality of service provided was gathered on a continuous and ongoing basis with feedback from the people who used the service.

The staff members we spoke to were very positive about the home and how it was being managed. One of them told us, 'I really enjoy my job and the service is very well managed.'