Archived: 48 Hafod Road

Updated 26 April 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

We made an unannounced inspection on 20 March 2017. The inspection team consisted of one Inspector.

We looked at the information we held about the service and the provider. We looked at statutory notifications that the provider had sent us. Statutory notifications are reports that the provider is required to send us by law about important incidents that have happened at the service. This information helped us to focus the inspection.

We asked the local authority if they had any information to share with us about the care provided by the service. Due to previous concerns regarding the care people receive, there was a local authority action plan in place with the provider.

We spent time with two people who use the service. We spoke with the acting operations manager, the registered manager, and four members of staff. We also spoke with two relatives and two health professionals. We looked at one care plan, which included risk assessments, capacity assessments, best interest decisions, and guidance from health professionals. We looked at complaints received and three staff recruitment files.

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Updated 26 April 2017

48 Hafod Road is located in Hereford, Herefordshire. The service provides personal care for up to eight people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and autistic spectrum disorders . On the day of our inspection, there were four people living in the home.

The inspection took place on 20 March 2017 and was unannounced. There was a registered manager at this home. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered providers and registered managers are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At our previous inspection on 8 and 16 August 2016, we found breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. These were in relation to safe care and treatment, safeguarding service users from abuse or improper treatment,person-centred care, meeting hydration and nutrition needs, and good governance. As a result, we asked the provider to complete an action plan to detail the steps they would take to improve the quality of care provided to people. The home was also placed into special measures, meaning significant improvements were required, or enforcement action would be taken.

At this inspection, we found people's needs had been reviewed and shared with the staff team. Guidance was in place for staff to follow to enable them to keep people safe. People received their medicines safely, and as prescribed.

Staffing levels were determined according to people's needs, both in terms of their safety and their wellbeing. People were able to go out when they wanted as there were sufficient staff to support them with this.

People's eating and drinking needs were known by staff, and professional and medical guidance were followed. Health professionals were involved in staff training to ensure that staff had the necessary skills and knowledge to meet people's needs.

People were encouraged to make choices and be involved in decisions which affected them and their care. Where information had to be presented in a different way, to enable people to make choices, staff adapted their communication style and method.

People's privacy and dignity were maintained, and staff understood the importance of this. People's independence was maintained as much as possible.

People's care plans reflected the individual care and support needs people had, and this information was used to inform staff's interactions with people. People's changing health and wellbeing needs were responded to.

People were supported to maintain their preferred social and leisure opportunities, as well as to develop and try new ones. There was a system in place for responding to and acting on complaints and feedback.

The registered manager had created a positive, respectful environment, which benefited the people living at the home. Routine checks and audits were carried out to ensure a high standard of care was maintained.