Fanshawe Avenue

At the previous inspection of this service in January 2018, we found they were in breach of regulations because assessments had not been carried out to determine people’s needs and care plans lacked information about supporting people with personal care. Following the last inspection, we asked the provider to complete an action plan to show what they would do and by when to address the breaches of regulations. During this inspection we found the service had addressed the issues and was no longer in breach of regulations.

The service had 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.

Appropriate safeguarding procedures were in place. Risk assessments provided information about how to support people in a safe manner. There were enough staff working at the service to meet people's needs and robust staff recruitment procedures were in place. Staff had a good understanding about infection control issues and used protective clothing to help prevent the spread of infection. Systems were in place to promote the safe management of medicines.

The service carried out an assessment of people’s needs prior to the provision of care. This enabled the service to determine if it was a suitable care provider for each individual. Staff undertook an induction training programme on commencing work at the service and had access to regular on-going training to help them develop relevant skills and knowledge. Where people required support with meal preparation they were able to choose what they ate and drank. The service operated within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The service supported people to access health care professionals.

People were supported by the same regular care staff so they were able to build good relationships. People were treated in a caring and respectful manner by staff and were supported to maintain their independence. The right to confidentiality was taken seriously by the service and staff understood the importance of this.

Care plans were in place which set out how to meet people’s individual needs and these were subject to review. People were supported to engage in community based activities where that was part of their assessed need. The service had a complaints procedure in place and relatives knew how to make a complaint.

Relatives and staff spoke positively about the registered manager. Systems were in place for monitoring the quality of support provided at the service. Some of these included seeking the views of people who used the service. The registered manager networked with other agencies to help develop their knowledge and to improve the quality of support provided to people.

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats in the community. It provides a service to older adults and younger adults with learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection five people were using the service and only three of those received support with personal care.

The service had 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.

During this inspection we found two breaches of regulations. This was because the service had not carried out assessments of people’s needs before the provision of care and care plans did not contain information about how to support people with personal care needs. We have also made a recommendation about the way staff receive induction training at the service. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of the full version of this report. Overall we have rated the service as Requires Improvement. This is the first time the service has been rated Requires Improvement.

Appropriate safeguarding procedures were in place and people told us they felt safe using the service. Risk assessments provided information about how to support people in a safe manner. There were enough staff working at the service to meet people’s needs and robust staff recruitment procedures were in place. Medicines were managed safely. Staff had a good understanding about infection control issues and used protective clothing to help prevent the spread of infection. Lessons were learnt when accidents or incidents occurred to help improve the service.

Staff received training and supervision to support them in their role. Where the service supported people with meal preparation they were able to choose what they ate and drank. People were supported to access relevant health care professionals and the service worked with other agencies to support people. People were able to make choices for themselves where they had the capacity to do so and the service operated in line the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

People told us they were treated with respect and that staff were caring. Staff had a good understanding of how to promote people’s privacy, independence and dignity.

Care plans were in place which set out how to meet people’s individual needs (with the exception of personal care needs). Where appropriate, people were supported to engage in various activities. The service had a complaints procedure in place and people knew how to make a complaint.

Staff and people spoke positively about the registered manager. The service had various quality assurance and monitoring systems in place, which included seeking the views of people on the running of the service.