Archived: Dorothy House

Updated 29 June 2015

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 was 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 inspection took place on 5 May 2015 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours notice of our inspection so we could ensure there would be people at the service on the day. The inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector.

Prior to our inspection, we spoke with one stakeholder from the local authority, who told us they had no current concerns about Dorothy House. We also checked any previous notifications or concerns we had received about the service so that we could check these during our inspection.

During our inspection, we spoke with the managing director, the registered manager, two staff members and one person who was using the service. After our inspection, we spoke via telephone with the relatives of three people who used the service.

We looked at documents kept by the service including the care records of two people who used the service and the personnel records of two staff members. We also looked at records relating to the management and monitoring of the service.

Updated 29 June 2015

We carried out this inspection on 5 May 2015 and it was an announced inspection. This was the first inspection the service had had by Care Quality Commission, since opening in August 2014.

Dorothy House was registered on 14 August 2014. It is a new support service from Autism Plus for adults and young people with autism and learning disabilities. Based in Barnsley, it offers residential living/respite (short term care) for up to five people at one time and a support service for people living in the community. People who use the respite service or the support service are able to access the facilities at Dorothy House. The service offers tailored support packages along with en-suite bedrooms, activity rooms, a large kitchen and an outdoor space. On the day of our inspection, there was one person using the support service at Dorothy House and no one using the respite service.

It is a condition of registration with the Care Quality Commission that the service has a registered manager in place. 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. The registered manager was present on the day of our inspection.

People and their relatives told us they felt the service was safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led. Comments included; “It’s great here. They look after me well.” “[The service] listen to what I say and more importantly, listen to what [family member, who used the service] says about the care they want”, “The staff are great. They’ve really helped [person who used the service] to build up confidence.” And “[The registered manager] is great. So approachable.”

People were protected from abuse and the service followed adequate and effective safeguarding procedures. Care records were personalised and contained relevant information for staff to provide person-centred care and support.

There were issues with repair and maintenance of the service. The registered manager and managing director told us they would contact the landlord of the property to discuss repairs that were outside of their remit, as tenants. However, there were also issues with the décor at the service.

We found good practice in relation to decision making processes at the service, in line with the Mental Capacity code of practice, the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

Formal staff supervision had been carried out on a regular basis and annual appraisals had been completed yearly. Staff were up to date with their training requirements.

There were good, regular quality-monitoring systems carried out at the service. We saw that, where issues had been identified, the registered manager had taken (or was taking) steps to address and resolve them.

During our inspection, we found one breach of Regulation 15 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.