Care Home: 120 High Street North

Annual service review Name of Service: 120 High Street North The quality rating for this care home is: The rating was made on: two star good service 2 6 0 3 2 0 0 9 A quality rating is our assessment of how well a care home, agency or scheme is meeting the needs of the people who use it. We give a quality rating following a full review of the service. We call this review a ‘key’ inspection We do an annual service review when there has been no key inspection of the service in the last 12 months. It does not involve a visit to the service but is a summary of new information given to us, or collected by us, since the last key inspection or annual service review.   Has this annual service review changed our opinion of the service?   Yes You should read the last key inspection report for this service to get a full picture of how well outcomes for the people using the service are being met. The date by which we will do a key inspection: Name of inspector: Rachel Geary Date of this annual service review: 0 2 0 3 2 0 1 0 Annual Service Review Page 1 of 5 Information about the service Address of service: 120 High Street North Dunstable Bedfordshire LU6 1LN 01582750940 Telephone number: Fax number: Email address: Provider web address:   caroline.jordan@mencap.org.uk Name of registered provider(s): Name of registered manager (if applicable) Royal Mencap Society Conditions of registration: Category(ies) : learning disability Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 Over 65 6 0 Have there been any changes in the ownership, management or the Yes service’s registration details in the last 12 months? If yes, what have they been: Date of last key inspection: Date of last annual service review (if applicable): Brief description of the service 120 High Street North is a care home which is registered to accommodate up to 6 adults whose primary care need on admission is a learning disability. The home is a semi-detached house to the north of Dunstable town centre. It has four floors and there is a spacious garden to the rear that can be accessed via the kitchen or utility room. It is in close proximity to local shops, facilities and public transport links. The registered manager has left the service. 2 6 0 3 2 0 0 9 Annual Service Review Page 2 of 5 Service update since the last key inspection or annual service review: What did we do for this annual service review? We looked at all the information that we have received, or asked for, since the last key inspection or annual service review. This included: The annual quality assurance assessment (AQAA) that was sent to us by the service. The AQAA is a self-assessment that focuses on how well outcomes are being met for people using the service. It also gave us some numerical information about the service. Surveys returned to us by people using the service and from other people with an interest in the service. What the service has told us about things that have happened in the service, these are called notifications and are a legal requirement. The previous key inspection which was carried out on 26th March 2009. What other people have told us about the service. What has this told us about the service? The home did not send us their annual quality assurance assessment (AQAA) when we asked for it and we needed to chase this up. As a result, we were told verbally that the registered manager had left the service and that someone registered to manage another local service run by the Royal Mencap Society, was going to manage this home on a temporary basis. We are concerned about the delay in sending in the homes AQAA - which is a legal requirement. And the temporary manager and registered provider are reminded that it is an offence under section 11 of the Care Standards Act 2000 for a person to manage an establishment without being registered with the Care Quality Commission (the CQC) in respect of it. When we did receive the homes AQAA, we noted that it was clear and gave us all the information we asked for - including information about further improvements that the service plans to make. We had a fair response to the surveys we sent out with only 4 being returned in total 3 from people living at the home and 1 from a member of staff who works there. Some of the good things that people told us about the service were that the home promotes choices for people who live there and provides activities including cooking. One person told us that staff are there to listen to people if they need to talk. But we were also told that people would like there to be less fighting/shouting and stealing in the home and the service could try to sort out problems better. We were told that things had started to improve but that staff needed more support and training Annual Service Review Page 3 of 5 to be able to meet the needs of the people living in the home. In January 2010, we received a copy of Luton Borough Councils (LBC) annual review report for the service. This was carried out by LBC as part of their commissioning arrangements with the home. The report states that the service has demonstrated that they have some excellent quality monitoring systems in place however these were lacking within service users finances and medication where gaps were identified. An action plan had been drawn up with the home to address the areas of concern. The home continues to let us know about things that have happened since our last key inspection. We have received a number of notifications about incidents between people living in the home which have also needed to be reported through safeguarding of vulnerable adults (SOVA) processes. Some of the notifications and the survey feedback, highlight concerns about the compatibility of some of the people living in the home. This issue had been acknowledged by the temporary manager in the homes AQAA, and plans were in place to address some of the concerns and to look at the service being provided overall. However taking into consideration everything in this review, we do have some concerns about the service. What are we going to do as a result of this annual service review? So we will do a key inspection by 25th March 2012, but we will continue to review the service in the mean time. We can inspect the service at any time if we have concerns about the quality of the service or the safety of the people using the service. Annual Service Review Page 4 of 5 Reader Information Document Purpose: Author: Audience: Further copies from: Annual service review CQC General Public 0870 240 7535 (national contact centre) Our duty to regulate social care services is set out in the Care Standards Act 2000. The content of which can be found on our website. Helpline: Telephone: 03000 616161 Email: enquiries@cqc.org.uk Web: www.cqc.org.uk We want people to be able to access this information. If you would like a copy of the findings in a different format or language please contact our helpline or go to our website. © Care Quality Commission 2010 This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part in any format or medium for non-commercial purposes, provided that it is reproduced accurately and not used in a derogatory manner or in a misleading context. The source should be acknowledged, by showing the publication title and © Care Quality Commission 2010. 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