Sidney Avenue Lodge Residential Care Home

Updated 28 January 2020

The inspection

We carried out 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

This inspection was completed by one inspector.

Service and service type

Sidney Avenue Lodge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people and two relatives to gain their views about the service. We spoke with two members of staff and the registered manager. We also spoke with one healthcare professional.

We reviewed a range of records. These included three people’s care plans, risk assessments and medicines records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment, training and supervision. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service such as audits and a variety of the provider’s policies and procedures.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. The provider sent us quality assurance records.

Updated 28 January 2020

About the service

Sidney Avenue Lodge Residential Care Home is a care home that provides accommodation and personal care for up to eight adults with learning disabilities and mental health conditions. At the time of the inspection, seven people were using the service.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

The service applied the principles of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

The home had safeguarding procedures in place and staff had a clear understanding of these procedures. Appropriate recruitment checks had taken place before staff started work and there were enough staff available to meet people’s care and support needs. Risks to people had been assessed to ensure their needs were safely met. The service had procedures in place to reduce the risk of infections. People’s medicines were managed safely.

People’s care and support needs were assessed when they moved into the home. Staff were supported through induction, training, regular supervision and annual appraisals of their work performance. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were supported to maintain a healthy balanced diet and they had access to health care professionals when they needed them.

Staff were kind and caring and their independence was promoted. People’s privacy and dignity was respected. People and their relatives [where appropriate] had been consulted about their care and support needs.

People received person centred care which met their needs and preferences. People were supported to maintain relationships and engage in activities they enjoyed. The home had a complaints procedure in place. People were supported to make decisions about their preferences and choices for their end of life care.

The registered manager and staff worked in partnership with health and social care providers to plan and deliver an effective service. The service took the views of people and their relatives into account through satisfaction surveys and meetings. There were systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service. Staff enjoyed working at the home and said they received good support from the registered manager.

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

Rating at last inspection (and update)

The last rating for this service was good (published 11 May 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.