Sheffield City Council - 136d Warminster Road Short Breaks

Updated 2 February 2019

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. This was a comprehensive inspection.

This inspection took place on 8 January 2019. The registered manager was given short notice of the inspection because the location provides a respite care service for people who are often out during the day and we needed to be sure that someone would be in. The inspection team consisted of one inspector and an expert by experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

At the time of our inspection there were 24 people in total, who used the service on a respite (short term) basis throughout the year. There was also some availability for people to be admitted for short term care in an emergency. On the day of the inspection there were eight people receiving respite care.

On 8 and 9 January 2019 we contacted six relatives of people who used the service, via the telephone. During the inspection we met three people who were at the home during the day.

We spoke with the registered manager and five staff including the first line manager, a senior support worker and support workers. This and our observations helped us evaluate the quality of interactions that took place between people who used the service and the staff who supported them.

Prior to the inspection visit we gathered information from several sources. We looked at the information received about the service from notifications sent to the Care Quality Commission by the registered manager. We also spoke with Sheffield local authority contract and safeguarding officers and Healthwatch (Sheffield). Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We looked at documentation relating to people who used the service, staff and the management of the service. We looked at three people's written records, including the plans of their care and the systems used to manage their medicines, including the storage and records kept. We looked at three staff files, including recruitment and training information. We looked at the quality assurance systems to check if they were robust and identified areas for improvement.

Updated 2 February 2019

This inspection took place on 8 January 2019. The registered manager was given short notice of the inspection because the location provides a respite care service for people who are often out during the day and we needed to be sure that someone would be in.

Sheffield City Council – 136d Warminster Road is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulated both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

At the last inspection in July 2016, the service was rated good. At this inspection we found the service remained good.

Medicines were administered safely and in line with safe medicines management procedures.

Staff were clear about the process for reporting accidents and incidents to the safeguarding authority to protect people from the risk of harm.

People who used the service were protected by the registered provider's robust recruitment policies and procedures.

Staff were provided with appropriate support through a programme of regular and on-going supervision and appraisal. Also, appropriate systems were in place to support staff with their training and development needs. Staff told us they felt very well supported by their line managers.

Staff told us they enjoyed working at this service. Regular staff meetings meant staff could make suggestions about how the service could be improved. Staff told us their views were always listened to.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff liaised with other healthcare professionals as required if they had concerns about a person's health. People were supported by staff to eat a balanced diet and meet their health care needs.

People who used the service and their relatives made positive comments about the staff and told us they were treated with dignity and respect. The relationships between people who used the service and staff were warm and friendly. The atmosphere in the home was calm and relaxed.

People and their relatives were involved in the planning of their care and support, which included details of people's needs and preferences.

People and their relatives had no concerns but if they had were confident they would be listened to and dealt with.

There was an effective system of quality assurance in place. The registered manager carried out audits to identify where improvements could be made and acted on these to improve the service.