Strathmore Day Opportunities for Older People Support Service Blairgowrie ARC Jessie Street Blairgowrie PH10 6BT Telephone: 01250 871919 Type of inspection: Announced (short notice) Inspection completed on: 27 June 2017 Service provided by: Perth & Kinross Council Service provider number: SP2003003370 Care service number: CS2006125593
About the service Strathmore Day Opportunities provides flexible responsive community-based day care for older people. The service base is in the Adult Resource Centre (ARC), Blairgowrie. Strathmore offers community group activities and individual support to enable older people to participate more fully in their community and to maintain or develop interests and activities. The service links in very closely with community groups and partner agencies to consider the needs of the local area. Strathmore can offer support to those caring for their relatives and encourage them to maintain their own life, interests and overall well-being. Some of the people who use the service are living with dementia and the service is well placed to offer carers support and guidance. Since the last Inspection, Strathmore has moved base from Harriet Court Sheltered Housing in to the adult resource centre. Blairgowrie Day Opportunities for younger adults with learning disabilities also use the centre as their base. Both Blairgowrie and Strathmore day opportunity services now have the same manager and we could see how this had enhanced the development of Strathmore to be a flexible and progressive service. The provider of the service is Perth and Kinross Health and Social care Partnership (previously known as Perth and Kinross Council). What people told us We spent time with people in the service base observing how they spent their time and the supports and activities available to them. We saw that people's activities and needs varied over the week. Some people come to the base for a short time only before heading out for the day whilst others prefer to spend their time in the centre. People described how they felt less isolated and enjoyed what the service offered. People we met appeared very comfortable with the staff team whom they spoke highly of. Comments included: 'Staff are so kind and considerate, exceptional' 'Exceptional people, great company' We then spoke with 5 relatives over the telephone. All spoke of a kind, considerate and understanding staff team who knew individuals well. Some described their relatives increasing in confidence as they had more opportunities to meet more people. Most relatives commented that there was variety in the outings and opportunities available to people. It was though, acknowledged, that people using the service were less able than a few years ago and this did affect the level of conversation and company for some. Relatives asked that we made staff aware of how valued they were. page 2 of 6
Self assessment We did not request a self assessment this year. We discussed and considered the service's own development plan as part of this inspection. This plan was robust and regularly reviewed by the whole staff team to evaluate their performance and areas for development. From this inspection we graded this service as: Quality of care and support Quality of environment Quality of staffing Quality of management and leadership 5 - Very Good not assessed not assessed 5 - Very Good What the service does well Strathmore Day Opportunities has transformed over recent years to meet the changing needs of the community and in response to required service developments. The service aims to enable older people to maintain active and interesting lives in their community. There is real recognition of local need and the service works alongside other partner agencies to develop opportunities for people. For example, the service successfully applied for funding alongside Alzheimer's Scotland to offer a community singing group. There are plans to re-start a dementia café as part of that initiative. People we met were confident in the staff team and could give examples of how the service had improved their quality of life. For some, this was reducing social isolation, meeting new people and trying new activities. The service also linked in with existing community events, for example the local tea dance. This meant frailer older people could still meet up with friends in their community and that the community was very aware of the service and what it could offer to people. Staff working in the service understood the needs of the rural communities. People told us that the service enable them to connect again. One person told us ' It has given me my life back, I had lost the art of conversation'. We observed people to be comfortable and relaxed in staffs presence. There were enough staff available to meet individuals needs. For example, some times groups were split up to allow those who wanted to go out and about, whilst others benefited from support, company and activities in the resource centre. We saw people less able to participate in groups having 1-1 time, being comforted and re-assured. As the needs of people continued to change, the service had reviewed the way that staffing hours were available. For example, by reviewing roles and responsibilities, more hours were now available for the social care staff. This meant they had more time to support people in the mornings when they were getting ready to attend the centre. page 3 of 6
People had their needs reviewed regularly. Formal reviews happened and the person using the service and their families were asked their opinion on the quality of the service and what they wanted to achieve next. The support plans that we sampled were detailed and told us about that individual, what mattered to them and their family and how the service improved their quality of life. The staff team were considerate, skilled and motivated to provide people with very good experiences and interesting lives. Staff had regular opportunities for learning and felt very well supported by management. For example, several staff were dementia ambassadors and this meant that they had the confidence and knowledge to guide people, families and the community about dementia. Since the last inspection, the management and staff base had changed. Staff said this had a positive impact. They told us that the manager was supportive and available. A depute manager had recently been appointed which meant that management supports had further improved and they were pro-actively developing the service. The resource base included local social work teams. This meant that professionals had a greater understanding of each other's roles and could easily get advice or make referrals when people's circumstances changed. Staff told us this meant people had prompt assessments or access to services when needed. What the service could do better The service was performing very well and had met all areas for development identified at the last Inspection. We spoke with staff and management around some areas to consider. This included: -Expanding the way that people's medical priorities and history are recorded in their support plans. Ensuring that people's medication needs are consistently recorded at formal review meetings. - Evidencing who has confirmed staffs understanding and learning. For example, when peer review is used to confirm competence and knowledge after medication training - detail and sign who has been involved. - If mandatory training has been cancelled - ensure this is re-arranged within suitable timescales to ensure staff have the appropriate skill and competence to meet people's needs. - Adding details of the Care Inspectorates Enquiry Contact details to service user information such as newsletters. As the service continues to respond to people's needs and provides more community based outreach support, the specific detail of their registration conditions with the Care Inspectorate must be adhered to or a formal variation request submitted. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 page 4 of 6
Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Complaints There have been no complaints upheld since the last inspection. Details of any older upheld complaints are published at www.careinspectorate.com. Inspection and grading history Date Type Gradings 4 Feb 2015 Unannounced Care and support 5 - Very good Environment 5 - Very good Staffing 5 - Very good Management and leadership 5 - Very good 13 Feb 2012 Unannounced Care and support 5 - Very good Environment Not assessed Staffing Not assessed Management and leadership 5 - Very good 14 May 2010 Announced Care and support 5 - Very good Environment 4 - Good Staffing 4 - Good Management and leadership 4 - Good page 5 of 6
To find out more This inspection report is published by the Care Inspectorate. You can download this report and others from our website. Care services in Scotland cannot operate unless they are registered with the Care Inspectorate. We inspect, award grades and help services to improve. We also investigate complaints about care services and can take action when things aren't good enough. Please get in touch with us if you would like more information or have any concerns about a care service. You can also read more about our work online at www.careinspectorate.com Contact us Care Inspectorate Compass House 11 Riverside Drive Dundee DD1 4NY enquiries@careinspectorate.com 0345 600 9527 Find us on Facebook Twitter: @careinspect Other languages and formats This report is available in other languages and formats on request. Tha am foillseachadh seo ri fhaighinn ann an cruthannan is cànain eile ma nithear iarrtas. page 6 of 6