During our visits to this service on 23 September 2011 and 10 January 2012 we spokewith four people currently using the service, the acting manager, the staff on duty and
three relatives.
The people using the service told us that they felt included in planning the support they
received by being involved in compiling their plans. We saw that people had signed their
support plan documentation to confirm their agreement of the content.
We saw that people had easy relationships with the staff on duty during our visits. They were engaged in positive conversations with jovial banter either on a one to one basis or as a group. We also observed that the staff were available to provide support or assistance as necessary, but were unobtrusive and encouraged people to undertake
whatever task was required themselves before stepping in to provide assistance.
One person we spoke to told us that they felt they were involved in the day to day running of the service as they participated in planning the menu each week and they attended the monthly residents meetings that were held. "We have monthly residents meetings that I enjoy and join in".
We asked people if they felt safe in the service. They told us that they liked the staff and felt comfortable. One person commented "I'm happy, I have no concerns".
We spoke to the staff on duty about the safeguarding procedures for the service. They told us that they had completed safeguarding of vulnerable adults training and were able to advise what they would do if they suspected, witnessed or observed abuse taking place. Training records we were provided with confirmed that the staff team had received training in this area.
We looked at the recruitment process for new staff which confirmed that a robust
recruitment procedure safeguarded the people using the service.
We looked at the staff rotas for a specific period of time and saw that the numbers of staff on each shift were appropriate to be able to meet the support needs of the people using the service. We asked the staff on duty if the felt there was adequate staff available and they told us that they felt that there was.
Training records we were provided with demonstrated that the service ensures that the
staff are provided with the necessary training and refresher training to enable them to
undertake their role. Staff we spoke with told us that that the training provided was good and met their needs.
We looked at how the service measures the quality of care and support provided. In
addition to regular one to one meetings with people and daily discussions we were told
that the service carried out an annual survey to seek the views of the people using the
service, their relatives and any other interested parties such as associated health care
professionals. We saw the results of the survey that had been undertaken in 2010. We
were told that an action plan had been compiled as necessary to address any issues that had arisen form the survey to ensure that the service was continuing to improve the quality of the service provided.