21 October 2014
During a routine inspection
This inspection took place on 21 October 2014 and was unannounced which means that we did not tell the provider beforehand that we were coming to inspect the service. At the last inspection in June 2013 the provider was meeting the regulations we looked at.
Focus Birmingham Beech House is an adapted residential house. It provided accommodation with personal care for up to six adults who have learning disabilities and visual impairment. At the time of our inspection six people were using the service, three of whom were away visiting a day centre. There was a registered manager at this location although they were away on the day of the inspection. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People, relatives and staff told us they felt that people who used the service were safe. We saw there were systems and processes in place to protect people from the risk of harm and observed that staff were caring and kept asking people if they needed anything. Staff treated people with dignity and respect and it was evident that staff had developed close relationships with the people who used the service because they supported them to do the things they liked and referred to people with warmth and kindness.
During our visit some members of staff received training so that they were knowledgeable about people’s needs and another member of staff was having an appraisal to review the quality of the support they provided. This ensured that staff provided effective care and support that met people’s individual needs. New staff received the appropriate training to ensure there were enough qualified and experienced staff on duty to meet people’s needs.
People were able to make choices about what they did and what they ate because they were supported by various communication methods to express their views. Staff had access to information which allowed them to understand what people’s specific expressions and gestures meant and how they should respond.
Management systems were well established. The manager monitored and learnt from incidents and concerns such as identifying how to reduce the frequency of a person’s behaviour which could be regarded as challenging. A senior manager from the provider organisation conducted regular quality checks to ensure the service was compliant with current legislation.