This inspection was carried out on 21 April 2016 and was unannounced.Smock Acre provides accommodation and personal care for up to three people with a learning disability. The service is a converted bungalow. There were three people living at the service at the time of our inspection.
A registered manager was leading the service. 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 registered manager was leading the staff team and had oversight of the service. Staff felt supported by the registered manager and were motivated. The registered 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. The registered manager had considered people’s needs when deciding how many staff were required to support people in 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 they needed to provide safe and effective care to people and held recognised qualifications in care. The registered 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.
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 registered manager. 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. The registered manager had assessed people’s capacity to make decisions when this was needed. Staff supported people to make decisions and respected the decisions they made. If people lacked capacity, decisions were made in people’s best interests with people who knew them well.
People enjoyed a variety of activities, with support when needed. Possible risks to people had been identified and were managed to keep them as safe as possible, while supporting them to be independent.
The registered manager worked alongside staff and checked that the quality of the service was to the required standard. The registered provider also completed regular checks. 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.