Care Home: Glenbrooke House

Annual service review Name of Service: Glenbrooke House The quality rating for this care home is: The rating was made on: two star good service 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?   No 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: Elaine Malloy Date of this annual service review: 3 0 1 0 2 0 0 9 Annual Service Review Page 1 of 7 Information about the service Address of service: Chowdene Bank Low Fell Gateshead Tyne and Wear NE9 6JR 01914878330 01914878340 Telephone number: Fax number: Email address: Provider web address:   CLS@gainfordcarehomes.co.uk Gainford Care Homes Ltd Name of registered provider(s): Conditions of registration: Category(ies) : learning disability physical disability Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 Over 65 10 4 0 0 Have there been any changes in the ownership, management or the No 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 Glenbrooke House is a large, detached Victorian house that has been restored and extended to provide accommodation for up to 10 people with a learning disability. The accommodation for service users is over 3 floors. The office and a games room are on a fourth floor. The home provides 4 bedrooms for people who may have mobility or physical disabilities. These bedrooms are on the ground floor where there is level access into the building, good access into lounges and dining areas and there are assisted bathing facilities. The bedrooms on the lower ground floor, first floor and mezzanines can only be used by people with good mobility. Decoration and furnishings are of a very good standard, and the home is warm and comfortable. It is suitable for its stated purpose and it meets the needs of the people who currently live here. The house is set in its own large private grounds. It is close to various local amenities, such shops, library, restaurants and clubs, and is close to public transport routes. Annual Service Review Page 2 of 7 A guide to the service and details of fees are available from the home. Annual Service Review Page 3 of 7 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 annual service review/key inspection. 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. Information we have about how the service has managed any complaints. 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 and the results of any other visits that we have made to the service in the last 12 months. Relevant information from other organisations. What other people have told us about the service. What has this told us about the service? The home sent us their annual quality assurance assessment (AQAA) when we asked for it. It was clear and gave us all the information we asked for. The AQAA told us about the improvements the service has made in the past year. The manager summarised these as follows: Staff have received support and guidance on their role as key workers for residents and improvements have been made in this respect and more in-house training in planned. Residents are now involved within the recruitment process and have sense of the service being their home and have been forthcoming in discussing their views on how the home is run with the staff team. Some residents have expressed an interest in voluntary work and paid employment and staff are assisting residents with pursuing this goal. We received eight surveys from people living at the home. Some people indicated they had help from a relative, advocate or staff member to complete the surveys. Most people told us they were asked if they wanted to move into the home, and received enough information before moving in to decide if it was the right place for Annual Service Review Page 4 of 7 them. One person said, Came to stay overnight and I liked it, and another indicated their social worker brought them for visits to the home. People said they always or sometimes make decisions about what to do each day, and that they can do what they want to during the day, in the evening and at weekends. They said they know who to talk to if they are unhappy and know how to make a complaint. People said the home is always or sometimes fresh and clean. People told us the staff treat them well, and always or sometimes listen and act on what they say. Additional comments included, The staff are darlings, and, I miss having a mini bus. One person indicated they like having different staff. We received seven surveys from health and social care professionals who have involvement with people living at the home. The majority told us the services assessment arrangements ensure accurate information is gathered and the right service is planned for people. They said peoples health and social care needs are properly monitored, reviewed and met, and that the home seeks advice and acts on it to meet peoples social and health care needs and improve their well-being. Professionals said the service respects peoples privacy and dignity, supports people to live the life they choose, and responds to the diverse needs of individuals. They told us managers and staff always or usually have the right skills and experience to support peoples social and health care needs. Some professionals said the home has responded appropriately if they, or a person using using the service or another person has raised concerns about the service, whilst others indicated this was not applicable. Comments on what the service does well were, Good communication between other professional and non-professional services. High standard of care, staff are well skilled for their role, Uses support and advice networks available and embraces multidisciplinary approach for support planning. Respects individual choices and is responsive to safeguarding issues where these are in conflict, Keeps agencies informed. Good management, I believe Glenbrooke House offers a valuable service to people. Time is taken to meet the needs of the individual. People who have recently been bereaved have been afforded time to grieve in an appropriate manner. Glenbrooke has worked very well with one person who has presented many challenges to the service, the people who live at Glenbrooke and the staff. I believe the team at Glenbrooke is very caring and sympathetic, and, Communicates well with other agencies. Works collaboratively. Provides an individualised service. Looks holistically at individual need. Takes risk management seriously. Provides positive leadership. Comments from professionals on what the service could do better were, Develop an active and knowledgeable key worker system, and, More activities for clients, possibly as a result of staffing ratios clients are sometimes not as meaningfully engaged as they might be. Additional comments included, So much depends upon the experience and knowledge of the manager. That is not to say that other workers are not skilled but, as is often the case, this links the success of the service directly to the continued existence of the present manager, and, My dealings with the service have been very positive, always willing to accept advice, lead by an enthusiastic manager. One professional also indicated good partnership working with a local community base. Annual Service Review Page 5 of 7 We received seven surveys from staff who work at the home. Staff gave variable responses to questions about training, information about people living at the home, staffing levels, and management support. Positive comments from staff about what the home does well included, Encourages choice and independence, values residents as people and each individual as having the potential to learn and grow. The home provides a homely environment, and, Treats everyone as an individual. Some staff also made extensive comments about what the service could do better, and additional comments that give us cause for concern. What are we going to do as a result of this annual service review? We will do a random inspection to look at the issues raised by staff, and how these might be affecting outcomes for people living at the home. Annual Service Review Page 6 of 7 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. 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