Wardley Street

Updated 27 April 2023

The inspection

We conducted this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

1 inspector conducted this inspection.

Service and service type

Wardley Street is a respite 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. An acting manager had been in post for 5 months and would remain so while another manager, already working for this provider, submitted an application to register with us. We are currently assessing this application.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced. Inspection activity started on 23 March 2023 and ended on 30 March 2023. We visited this respite service on the first day of this inspection.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke in-person with 4 people who were using the respite service and 3 members of staff who worked there. We also received feedback from 4 relatives we contacted by telephone about their experiences of using this respite service.

We reviewed a range of records. They included 4 people’s care and risk management plans. We also checked a variety of records relating to the management and governance of the service, including multiple medicine’s administration record sheets, audits, and policies and procedures.

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We requested additional evidence to be sent to us after our inspection. This included staff duty rosters, staff recruitment and training records, and provider level audits. We received the information which was used as part of our inspection.

Updated 27 April 2023

About the service

Wardley Street is a short-stay and/or emergency respite care service providing personal care and support to up to 7 people at any one time. This includes 5 short stay and 2 emergency beds. The service provides support to people with a learning disability and autistic people. At the time of our inspection there were 4 people staying at the respite service which accommodates people in 1 adapted building. Approximately 40 people and their families extensively use this respite service. People staying there may also have additional care needs associated with mental health, mobility, communication, or sensory impairment.

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 Care Quality Commission (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.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

People using this respite service all spoke positively about the standard of care and support provided at Wardley Street. A relative told us, “My [family member] loves to stay at Wardley Street. The staff are all so supportive there.” Another relative added, “It’s a wonderful service my daughter receives there. She always looks forward to going.”

Right Support

People received a service that was safe for them to live in and for staff to work. The quality of the service was regularly reviewed, and appropriate changes made to improve people’s care and support if required. This was in a way that suited people best. The home had well-established working partnerships that promoted people’s participation and reduced the danger of social isolation.

Right Care

Staff were recruited safely and appropriately trained. There were enough staff to support people to live in a safe way, whilst enjoying their lives. Risks to people and staff were assessed, monitored, and reviewed. Complaints, concerns, accidents, incidents, and safeguarding issues were appropriately reported, investigated, and recorded. Staff were suitably trained manage people’s medicines safely.

Right culture

The home’s culture was positive, open, and honest, with leadership and management that was clearly identifiable and transparent. Staff were aware of and followed the provider’s clearly defined vision and values. Staff knew their responsibilities, accountability and were happy to take responsibility and report any concerns they may have.

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.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 12 August 2017).

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection to check whether the service was continuing to provide a good rated service to people.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service remains good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Wardley Street at www.cqc.org.uk

Follow up

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