Care Home: Portland Avenue 35-37

What the care home does well The home provides a service specially for people with autism, with staff who have been trained to understand their needs. It gives people opportunities to be independent and to have an interesting and enjoyable lifestyle. What the care home could do better: Staff and people who live in the home must take part in fire drills at least every six months. Staff must receive fire training every six months or every three months if they do night duty. Inspecting for better lives Random inspection report Care homes for adults (18-65 years) Name: Address: Portland Avenue 35-37 35 Portland Avenue Seaham Durham SR7 8AL three star excellent service The quality rating for this care home is: The rating was made on: 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 assessment of the service. We call this a ‘key’ inspection. This is a report of a random inspection of this care home. A random inspection is a short, focussed inspection. Details of how to get other inspection reports for this care home, including the last key inspection report, can be found on the last page of this report. Lead inspector: Kathy Bell Date: 1 2 0 3 2 0 0 9 Information about the care home Name of care home: Address: Portland Avenue 35-37 35 Portland Avenue Seaham Durham SR7 8AL 01915810741 Telephone number: Fax number: Email address: Provider web address: Name of registered provider(s): Type of registration: Number of places registered: Conditions of registration: Category(ies) : Education and Services for People with Autism Limited care home 4 Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 Over 65 0 learning disability Conditions of registration: Date of last inspection Brief description of the care home 4 Portland Avenue provides care, but not nursing care, for four adults with autism. The amount of support given is dependant on need. Some people living there live almost independent lives whilst others have much greater support. The service is provided in two separate bungalows sharing the same garden. It is situated close to the centre of Seaham and gives easy access to public transport to the major northeast cities. The home is fully supported by an experienced staff team. The registered manager is working in another home at the moment, but an experienced manager from another ESPA home is acting as manager. The home has provided the information that the average fee is #66,000 a year. This information was provided in February 2007. Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 2 of 7 What we found: This inspection took place during one afternoon in March 2009. It was one of the number of inspections carried out by CSCI, to check that services we had rated as good or excellent, were still good or excellent. We decided that this was still an excellent service but have asked the manager to send us more information so we can be sure. During the inspection we talked to three of the people who live in the home, and three of the staff. The manager was not in the building at the time so we talked to him the next day. We also looked at records in the home. We found that each person has a care plan which explains the help they need. These help staff understand the particular problems people may have because of their autism and how they communicate. A new member of staff explained she has been told how to help people make choices in their daily lives. People are helped to be independent and to look after themselves as much as possible but the home has looked at the risks involved in this and provides enough support for people, to protect them from harm. The home is having to look again at the risks involved with one person having a bath and the manager will send us information on this. Everyone involved in the home is aware of the need to balance peoples rights to make decisions with their rights to be kept safe as far as possible. People who live in the home take part in a wide range of activities. Some activities take place in the day centre run by the company which owns the home. People also go out and about in the local community. Everyone does not do the same activities-staff recognise peoples individual interests, abilities and preferences. There are enough staff to make this possible. There are usually three staff on duty through the day and two in the evening. A new member of staff explained how she had received comprehensive training. Staff provide as much personal care as people need but encourage them to be independent. They look after their healthcare needs and detailed records show when people have seen doctors and nurses. Staff look after medication safely and can show that any changes have been decided by the doctor in charge of each person. One person looks after his own medication because he has shown he can do this properly. The home has a satisfactory complaints procedure and this has been provided in a form with pictures to make it easier for some people to understand it. Two people said that they would be able to tell staff if they were unhappy about something. The staff said that they understood most people would not use a complaints procedure but they are used to understanding when people show by their behaviour that they are not happy about something. They said they regularly ask people if there is anything wrong. Staff have been trained in how to recognise abuse. They have been told what to do if they think something is wrong. Sometimes people in the home may become upset or angry and the staff have been trained in what to do if this happens. The records of any incidents show that staff are good at calming people down. The home consists of two semi-detached bungalows, which helps people be independent. They are comfortable and provide a single room for each person, with two people sharing a bathroom, living room and kitchen. There is a system for checking on the quality of care. Each month, a senior person from the company which runs the home visits and talks to people and looks at records. The company also asks relatives and people who live in the home what they think of it. Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 3 of 7 Staff check that the fire safety system is operating properly, and that the hot water isnt too hot. The safety of the electricity and gas systems and electrical equipment is checked as often as it should be. But staff and people who live in the home have not been taking part in fire drills as often as they should have. This is important so everybody is familiar with what to do if there is a real fire. What the care home does well: What they could do better: If you want to know what action the person responsible for this care home is taking following this report, you can contact them using the details set out on page 2. Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 4 of 7 Are there any outstanding requirements from the last inspection? Yes R No £ Outstanding statutory requirements These requirements were set at the last inspection. They may not have been looked at during this inspection, as a random inspection is short and focussed. The registered person must take the necessary action to comply with these requirements within the timescales set. No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action 1 42 13 Everyone must take part in a 01/08/2007 fire drill every six months and staff must receive fire safety training every six months and every three months for everyone who does night duty. Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 5 of 7 Requirements and recommendations from this inspection Immediate requirements: These are immediate requirements that were set on the day we visited this care home. The registered person had to meet these within 48 hours. No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action Statutory requirements These requirements set out what the registered person must do to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Care Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must do this within the timescales we have set. No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action Recommendations These recommendations are taken from the best practice described in the National Minimum Standards and the registered person(s) should consider them as a way of improving their service. No. Refer to Standard Good Practice Recommendations Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 6 of 7 Reader Information Document Purpose: Author: Audience: Further copies from: Inspection Report CSCI General Public 0870 240 7535 (telephone order line) Our duty to regulate social care services is set out in the Care Standards Act 2000. Copies of the National Minimum Standards –Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) can be found at www.dh.gov.uk or got from The Stationery Office (TSO) PO Box 29, St Crispins, Duke Street, Norwich, NR3 1GN. Tel: 0870 600 5522. Online ordering from the Stationery Office is also available: www.tso.co.uk/bookshop Helpline: Telephone: 03000 616161 or Textphone: or 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 summary in a different format or language please contact our helpline or go to our website. Copyright © (2009) Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI). 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