Waymead Short Term Care

Updated 10 May 2018

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.

This inspection took place on 5 and 6 April 2018 and was announced. We gave the registered manager 48 hours' notice of our inspection as this is a small service and we needed to be sure staff would be available.

Prior to the inspection we looked at all the information we had collected about the service. This included previous inspection reports, information received and any notifications the registered manager had sent us. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to tell us about by law.

During the inspection we spoke with seven people who use the service. We also spoke with the registered manager, the provider's head of learning disabilities and autistic spectrum disorder for adult social care, the administrative assistant and six support workers. We observed interactions between people who use the service and staff on both days of our inspection. As part of the inspection we requested feedback from eleven community professionals and received responses from six. We sent survey forms to 19 members of staff and received four responses. We sent survey forms to 14 relatives and received nine responses.

We looked at four people's care plans, monitoring records and medication sheets, staff training records and the staff supervision and appraisal log. Medicines administration, storage and handling were checked. We reviewed a number of other documents relating to the management of the service. For example, the electrical equipment safety check certificates, gas safety certificate, electrical wiring certificate, fire risk assessment, fire safety checks, legionella risk assessment and complaints, compliments and incidents records.

Updated 10 May 2018

Waymead Short Term Care is a care home without nursing. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The service offers short term respite care to people with learning disabilities and/or autistic spectrum disorder in the Bracknell area. Although registered for up to 10 people, the maximum number of people usually accommodated overnight at any one time is five. Each of the people who use the service have their own individual respite care package which depends on their assessed respite needs, the way they want to use the service and the support they require. For example, some people may stay at the service one night per week, every week. Another person may stay for a weekend, once a month. At the time of our inspection there were 36 people using the service.

The service had a registered manager who was present and assisted us during this 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection. At this inspection we found the service remained Good and had continued to meet all the fundamental standards of quality and safety.

Why the service remained Good:

People benefitted from staff who had an in depth knowledge and understanding of the people who use the service. Care plans were highly individualised to each person. The service was responsive and proactive in recognising and adapting to people's changing needs. Staff were innovative in exploring ways to help people overcome their anxieties and lead a more fulfilling life.

People received care and support that was personalised to meet their individual needs. People were able to continue their usual daily activities during their stay at the service. The service also provided access to the local community to enhance social activities. This meant people were able to access activities that took into account their individual interests and links with different communities.

Staff had a good understanding of how to keep people safe and protect them from abuse. Personal and environmental risks to the safety of people, staff and visitors had been assessed and actions had been taken to minimise those risks. Recruitment processes were in place to make sure, as far as possible, that people were protected from staff being employed who were not suitable. There were sufficient numbers of staff and medicines were stored and handled correctly.

People benefitted from a staff team that was well trained and supervised. We have made a recommendation that future ongoing staff training be updated in line with the latest best practice guidelines for social care staff.

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 eat and drink enough and their health and social care needs were met.

The staff team were caring and respectful and provided support in the way people preferred. People's rights to confidentiality, dignity and privacy were respected. People were enabled and encouraged to develop and maintain their independence wherever possible.

People were relaxed and there was an open and inclusive atmosphere at the service. Staff were happy in their jobs and there was a good team spirit. Quality assurance systems were in place to monitor the quality of care being delivered and the running of the service.

Further information is in the detailed findings in the full report.