We carried out an unannounced inspection on 28 September 2015.
The service provides specialist support and treatment for up to six people living with eating disorders. Some of the people receive care and treatment under the Care Programme Approach (CPA) and Community Treatment Orders (CTO), of the Mental Health Act 2007. There were five people being supported by the service at the time of this inspection and one person was in hospital.
There is a registered manager in post, who is also the provider of the service. 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 provider did not always have effective recruitment processes in place and this put people at risk of being supported by staff who might not be suitable.
People were safe and the provider had effective systems in place to safeguard them.
There were risk assessments in place that gave guidance to the staff on how risks to people could be minimised.
People were supported to manage their medicines safely.
There was enough skilled and experienced staff to support people safely.
The manager and the nurses understood their roles and responsibilities in relation to the care and treatment of people under the Care Programme Approach (CPA) and Community Treatment Orders (CTO).
Staff had received supervision and support that enabled them to support people appropriately, but this was not always clearly recorded.
People were supported to have nutritious food and drinks in order to maintain their health and wellbeing. They were also supported to access other health and social care services when required.
People were supported by staff who were compassionate and sensitive to their individual needs. Staff had received effective training so that they were able to understand people’s complex needs.
People’s needs had been assessed, and care plans took account of their individual needs, preferences, and choices. They were fully involved in planning their care and were supported to manage their health conditions.
People were supported to pursue their hobbies and interests, including acquiring qualifications.
The provider had a formal process for handling complaints and concerns. They encouraged feedback from people, their representatives, and health and social care professionals. They acted on the comments received to continuously improve the quality of the service.
The registered manager provided stable leadership, clinical expertise and managerial oversight. They encouraged staff to contribute to the development of the service.
The provider did not always evidence that they continually assessed the quality of the service provided.