Archived: Viewmount

Viewmount is registered to provide accommodation with personal care needs to a maximum of five people who have a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder. There were five people living at the home on the day of the inspection.

There was a registered manager in post who was present during the inspection. 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.

Relatives were confident that their family members were safe and well looked after. Staff had received training and knew how to recognise and report the signs of abuse. Staff were aware of the risks associated with people’s needs and how to minimise these without restricting their choice.

People were supported by sufficient staff who had undergone safe recruitment checks to ensure they were suitable to work at the home. Staff felt well supported by management and could approach them at any time for guidance. Staff had good training opportunities that enabled them to meet the individual needs of people living at the home.

People were encouraged to follow healthy diets and received the assistance they needed to eat and drink enough. Staff monitored people’s health and responded quickly to any changes. Staff worked with other professionals to ensure people received the care and support they needed. People were supported to take their medicines safely and accurate records were maintained. Staff received regular competency assessments to ensure the on-going safe management of medicines.

People were treated with dignity, respect and compassion. Staff knew people and their preferences well. Staff provided people with information in a way they could understand to allow them to make their own decisions where able. Where people were unable to make certain decisions for themselves we saw that these were made in their best interest by staff who knew them well.

People were supported to follow their interests and were provided with opportunities to broaden their experiences. People were supported to keep in touch with friends and relatives that were important to them. People’s relatives were able to visit when they wished and were always welcomed by staff.

There was an open and transparent culture at the home where staff and management worked together to deliver the values of the service. The provider had a range of checks in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service. The provider used feedback gathered to make improvements.

People appeared happy and comfortable with the staff and their surroundings. Staff were caring and attentive to people and demonstrated a clear understanding of the individual needs of the people whose care we looked at in detail. They shared examples of how they offered people choices in their daily lives and how they promoted their independence.

People's health and wellbeing was closely monitored and reviewed in their best interests.

Staff received a range of training to give them the skills and knowledge they needed to keep people safe and to meet their individual needs.

There were systems in place to monitor and assess the quality of the service.

People were supported in promoting their independence and community involvement. Staff demonstrated a good knowledge and understanding of people's needs. They knew people's preferences, communication methods, likes and dislikes well. People were supported to attend health appointments to maintain their health and welfare.

Staff had received training on protecting vulnerable adults. They were able to describe abuse and knew how to respond to protect people. They said they would report any concern to managers and other agencies in line with locally agreed policy.

People were supported by a team of consistent, long-standing staff providing people with continuity of care and support. Staff said they tried to meet people's needs with the number of staff available. They expressed concern that people's needs were changing and therefore they required a higher level of support and supervision to keep them safe.

People said if they were not happy they would speak with the staff. Staff told us they were confident in raising concerns on behalf of the people they supported.