Archived: Real Life Options - Forest Road

The service is registered to provide care for up to five people who have a learning disability and had a registered manager in post. 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.

People who used the service and their relatives told us that the home was safe. Staff were aware of the need to keep people safe and they knew how to report allegations or suspicions of poor practice.

People were protected from possible errors in relation to their medication because the arrangements for the storage, administration and recording of medication were good and there were robust systems for checking that medication had been administered in the correct way.

There were sufficient appropriately trained, skilled and supervised staff and they received opportunities to further develop their skills.

The registered manager had approached the appropriate authority when it was felt there was a risk people were being supported in a way which could restrict their freedom. Staff had been provided with training about the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) but not all staff were aware that Deprivation of Liberty applications had been submitted.

People were supported to maintain good health and to access appropriate support from health professionals where needed. People were supported to eat meals which they enjoyed and which met their needs in terms of nutrition and assessed risks.

People told us or indicated by gestures and their body language that they were happy at this home and this was confirmed by people's relatives. We observed caring staff practice, and staff we spoke with demonstrated a positive regard for the people they were supporting. People and, where appropriate, their relatives, were consulted about their preferences and people were treated with dignity and respect.

People’s needs had been assessed and care plans developed to inform staff how to support people appropriately. Staff demonstrated an understanding of people’s individual needs and preferences.

The registered manager had a good level of understanding in relation to the requirements of the law and the responsibilities of her role. We had not been notified about some incidents that we should have been to comply with regulations. It was not evident that arrangements for checking the safety and quality of the service by the registered provider were effective in driving forward continuous improvement and making sure identified areas for improvement were actioned.

There were good arrangements for assessing people’s needs and for planning the care and support which each person needed. The plans addressed people’s emotional, social and physical needs.

We found that staff were well supported in the home and had access to relevant training. We observed staff communicating well with people in the home. A relative told us how staff shared information with them. They said, “I can’t speak highly enough of the staff…we work together…they pick up the phone to me and we have a real dialogue.” Another relative described the staff as, 'lovely', 'helpful' and 'kind.'

A health professional told us that she considered the home to be ‘excellent’, providing an example of how the staff had ‘done really well’ in bringing about positive changes in a person’s life.

People told us that they were happy in this home. People told us about the variety of activities in which they participated on a daily basis.

We found that there were suitable arrangements for the storage, administration and recording of medication.

There were good systems for monitoring the performance of the home and for making sure that staff carried out their roles in the right way.

Evidence of verbal encouragement was noted to good effect and staff demonstrated their detailed knowledge of people by responding appropriately to gestures, tones or other expressions. During the course of the inspection, staff were heard to be offering people choices, ensuring person centred care.