This inspection was carried out on 7 July 2016 and was unannounced.Avenues South East - 39 Beresford Gardens provides accommodation and personal care for up to four people with a learning disability. The service is a converted house. There were three people living at the service at the time of our inspection.
The registered manager was no longer leading the service. They had applied to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to be deregistered. An acting manager had been appointed and was leading the service. They had applied to us to be registered as the manager of the service and were awaiting the outcome of their application. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the care and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
Staff were kind and caring to people and treated them with dignity and respect at all times.
The acting manager and registered provider had oversight of the service. Staff felt supported by the acting manager and were motivated. The acting manager and staff shared the provider’s vision of a good quality service.
There were enough staff, who knew people well, to meet their needs. People’s needs had been considered when deciding how many staff were required to support them to complete different activities. Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities and worked as a team to meet people’s needs.
Checks had been completed to make sure staff were honest, trustworthy and reliable. Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal records checks had been completed. The DBS helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and helps prevent unsuitable people from working with people who use care and support services.
Staff had completed the training and development they needed to provide safe and effective care to people and held recognised qualifications in care. The acting manager met regularly with staff to discuss their role and practice. They supported staff to provide good quality care.
People’s care and support was planned and reviewed with them and others who knew them well, to keep them safe and help them be as independent as possible. Possible risks to people had been identified and were managed to keep them as safe as possible, while supporting them to be independent. People enjoyed a variety of activities, with support when needed.
Plans were in place to keep people safe in an emergency. Staff knew the signs of abuse and were confident to raise any concerns they had with the acting manager or provider. Systems were in place to manage complaints received.
People received the medicines they needed to keep them safe and well. Action was taken to identify changes in people’s health, including regular health checks. People were offered a balanced diet that met their individual needs.
The Care Quality Commission is required by law to monitor the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Arrangements were in place to apply to the supervisory body for a DoLS authorisation when necessary. People were not restricted and went out when they wanted to.
The requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) had been met. People’s capacity to make decisions had been assessed when this was needed. Staff supported people to make decisions and respected the decisions they made. When people lacked capacity to make a specific decision, systems were in place to make the decision in people’s best interests with people who knew them well.
The acting manager worked alongside staff and checked that the quality of the service was to the required standard. They also completed regular checks on the quality of the service. Any shortfalls found were addressed quickly to prevent them from happening again. People, their relatives, visiting professionals and staff were asked about their experiences of the care.
Accurate records were kept about the support people received and the day to day running of the service care. These provided staff with the information they needed to provide safe and consistent care to people.