Flaxman Avenue

Flaxman Avenue is a short-break support service providing personal care to 2 people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 6 people with a learning disability, autism and /or other sensory and complex needs.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. 'Right support, right care, right culture' is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Support:

People were supported in a service which promoted choice, control and independence. Staffing levels ensured people’s needs were met. People were supported to take their medicines safely.

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.

Right Care:

Risk assessments were in place, however individual risks to people were not always assessed, and control measures reviewed.

We have made a recommendation about how risks are recorded and managed.

People received person-centred care which met their individual needs. People were always treated with dignity and respect. Staff understood they had a responsibility to protect people from abuse and were clear about how to report concerns and these would be acted upon.

Right Culture:

There was a schedule of audits and governance checks. However, these were not always effective.

We have made a recommendation for the provider to review the effectiveness of governance systems in the service.

The culture of the service was empowering for people receiving care and support. People and their families were communicated with in a way which was appropriate for them. Relatives were involved in developing people’s support plans. People were supported to develop skills and be as independent as possible.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 21 September 2022 and this is the first inspection. The last rating for the service under the previous provider was Good, published on 30 December 2017.

Why we inspected

This was the first inspection since registration.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.