Cheshire House (Care Home) Care Home Service Ness Walk Inverness IV3 5NE Telephone: 01463 713377 Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 16 August 2016 Service provided by: Leonard Cheshire Disability Service provider number: SP2003001547 Care service number: CS2003008524
About the service The service is operated by Leonard Cheshire Disability, a national charity supporting people with disabilities throughout the UK. The service provides a care home service for up to 16 people with physical and sensory impairment and/or learning disabilities. Other services provided from Cheshire House include a day care support service and an integrated housing support and care at home service. The care home service was previously registered with the Care Commission and transferred its registration to the Care Inspectorate on 1 April 2011. Cheshire House is a single storey building, purpose built to offer a high standard of accommodation and facilities for disabled people. The house is located in the centre of Inverness on the banks of the river Ness and provides very good access to local amenities. The service offers spacious accommodation in self-contained flats and support with all aspects of daily living. Each flat consists of a bed/sitting room with well equipped kitchenette and separate shower and toilet. The accommodation has adjustable equipment to support people with disabilities. All flats have their own front door accessed from the main house and direct access to a landscaped garden area through patio doors in the bed/ sitting rooms. What people told us For this inspection we heard the views of five people who use this service and one from a relative of someone who uses this service. People spoke highly about the service and the staff who supported them. They told us that they were treated with respect and were very comfortable to approach the management or senior staff if they had any issues to discuss. Several people spoke about their volunteers and how much they appreciated and valued what this service provided and how it enhanced the quality of their lives. Relatives told us that they were very happy with the "excellent" service provided by Cheshire House. They told us that staff were "extremely supportive" and met individual needs for people very well. They liked the open door approach by the management team and felt that their involvement was valued by the service. Self assessment The Care Inspectorate received a fully completed self-assessment from the provider. We were satisfied with the way this had been completed. The provider gave good information about what they thought they did well and they had identified the work they thought they needed to do to improve particular areas. The manager told us how people and staff had taken part in the self-assessment process and how their feedback influenced the development of the service. From this inspection we graded this service as: Quality of care and support Quality of environment Quality of staffing Quality of management and leadership not assessed not assessed page 2 of 6
What the service does well Cheshire House care home provides excellent care and support for the people who use the service and their families. The service is well managed and benefits from a skilled staff team who are committed to improving the quality of life and experiences for the people who live there. People who use the service can expect individualised support and opportunities to enjoy a range of activities and events in the local community that reflects their personal interests and choice. The service works with people to support and develop skills for independent living and promotes opportunities for people to build active lives. Most people were involved in regular activities and groups in the local community and were supported by staff or volunteers to develop their interests. Some of the people we spoke with told us about how the service had supported them to plan and manage holidays and short breaks. Holidays were arranged in consultation with staff and the management team so that their support needs could be met consistently, in a way that met their choices and preferences. This was excellent practice that reflected a person centred approach. Overall we thought that the service worked very well to meet the health and wellbeing needs of the people they supported. Staff worked closely with healthcare professionals to ensure that people's health care needs were supported and they could manage complex health issues in accordance with best practice guidance. They supported people sensitively which helped to uphold dignity for those who needed some assistance and encouraged people to use skills that supported independence. This showed how the service were implementing recommendations from the Key's to Life strategy and achieving the key outcomes for ensuring a healthy life, exercising choice and control; improving independence and promoting inclusion for people. What the service could do better The service had experienced some challenging staffing issues and there were a number of new staff members. As a result keyworking was currently being carried out by senior staff. The managers had identified this as an area for development and have been focusing on mentoring new staff to ensure they have appropriate knowledge and skills to take on the keyworking role. Currently staff are supported to achieve a professional qualification in care that meets the requirement for registration with the Scottish Social Services Council. However, the provider should consider setting the minimum for SVQ at level three rather than two. This would recognise the benefits for staff development and support the professionalisation of the workforce. The provider should look at how they support staff development at all levels and raise the standard of professional learning within the staff team. The manager should consider how they will raise staff awareness of their individual responsibility in protecting people from risk of harm and exploitation and ensure this is an on-going and active part of their role. The manager had identified this as an area for improvement in the self-assessment for the service and should continue to take this forward through staff supervision, assessment and training. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 page 3 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 6 Aug 2015 Unannounced Care and support Management and leadership 26 Jun 2014 Unannounced Care and support Management and leadership 30 Apr 2013 Unannounced Care and support Management and leadership 1 May 2012 Unannounced Care and support Management and leadership 28 Jan 2011 Unannounced Care and support Management and leadership 7 Jul 2010 Announced Care and support 4 - Good page 4 of 6
Date Type Gradings Management and leadership 4 - Good 15 Jan 2010 Unannounced Care and support Management and leadership 14 Jul 2009 Announced Care and support Management and leadership 16 Mar 2009 Unannounced Care and support Management and leadership 20 Oct 2008 Announced Care and support Management and leadership 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