Scolty Centre Support Service Without Care at Home Arbeadie Road Banchory AB31 4FH Telephone:

Transcription

1 Scolty Centre Support Service Without Care at Home Arbeadie Road Banchory AB31 4FH Telephone: Inspected by: Linda Murray Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 19 January 2012

2 Contents Page No Summary 3 1 About the service we inspected 4 2 How we inspected this service 5 3 The inspection 9 4 Other information 16 5 Summary of grades 17 6 Inspection and grading history 17 Service provided by: Aberdeenshire Council Service provider number: SP Care service number: CS Contact details for the inspector who inspected this service: Linda Murray Telephone enquiries@scswis.com Scolty Centre, page 2 of 18

3 Summary This report and grades represent our assessment of the quality of the areas of performance which were examined during this inspection. Grades for this care service may change after this inspection following other regulatory activity. For example, if we have to take enforcement action to make the service improve, or if we investigate and agree with a complaint someone makes about the service. We gave the service these grades Quality of Care and Support 5 Very Good Quality of Environment 4 Good Quality of Staffing Quality of Management and Leadership N/A N/A What the service does well The service continues to provide high quality, person-centred support. Service users are consulted, listened to and respected as individuals. Staff know the service users well. What the service could do better The manager has agreed to make sure paper towels are available rather than communal hand towels for people to dry their hands on. The service is consulting people on changes to the service. What the service has done since the last inspection Consultation meetings with service users and other people such as their families or carers have begun so that the proposed changes to the service can be discussed. Conclusion The service is looking at how best to meet the needs of the people who want or need to use it. High quality person-centred support continues to be provided by very committed staff. Who did this inspection Linda Murray Scolty Centre, page 3 of 18

4 1 About the service we inspected The Scolty Centre has been registered with the Care Inspectorate since 01 April 2012 to provide a support service for a maximum of twenty-five adults with learning disabilities at any one time. The service is provided by the local authority, Aberdeenshire Council, and operates from two premises in the rural towns of Banchory and Aboyne in addition to using a variety of community facilities. The service provides a wide range of activities, including creative arts, programmes to support the development of independent living skills and sheltered-work placements at the 'Recycle' project which collects, sorts and packs plastic bottles for recycling. The service aims 'to enable the individual to live a fulfilled life in the community' by promoting 'rights, independence, individuality and informed choice'. Based on the findings of this inspection this service has been awarded the following grades: Quality of Care and Support - Grade 5 - Very Good Quality of Environment - Grade 4 - Good Quality of Staffing - N/A Quality of Management and Leadership - N/A This report and grades represent our assessment of the quality of the areas of performance which were examined during this inspection. Grades for this care service may change following other regulatory activity. You can find the most up-to-date grades for this service by visiting our website or by calling us on or visiting one of our offices. Scolty Centre, page 4 of 18

5 2 How we inspected this service The level of inspection we carried out In this service we carried out a low intensity inspection. We carry out these inspections when we are satisfied that services are working hard to provide consistently high standards of care. What we did during the inspection This report is based on an unannounced inspection visit undertaken by one Inspector, Linda Murray on 19 January Prior to the inspection, the service submitted an annual return and a self assessment of the service as requested by us at the Care Inspectorate. These provided information about the service and details of an internal evaluation of its strengths and areas for improvement. During the inspection, evidence was gathered from various sources including the following: * Consultation with the people who use the service * Observation of service users and their interaction with staff * Informal chatting with service users as they enjoyed their breaks, activities and work placements * Individual discussions with four service users * Care Inspectorate inspection questionnaires completed by service users or their personal representatives * Brief informal discussion with one relative during the inspection visit * Consultation with managers and staff * Individual discussions with 4 members of staff * Individual discussion with the Social Worker in Training * Viewing the premises in Banchory A range of relevant documentation including: * Personal support plans, including records of review meetings and running notes, for three service users * Minutes of service users' meetings * Minutes of staff meetings * Records of staff training * Policies and procedures Feedback was given to the manager at the end of the inspection visit. Scolty Centre, page 5 of 18

6 Grading the service against quality themes and statements We inspect and grade elements of care that we call 'quality themes'. For example, one of the quality themes we might look at is 'Quality of care and support'. Under each quality theme are 'quality statements' which describe what a service should be doing well for that theme. We grade how the service performs against the quality themes and statements. Details of what we found are in Section 3: The inspection Inspection report continued Inspection Focus Areas (IFAs) In any year we may decide on specific aspects of care to focus on during our inspections. These are extra checks we make on top of all the normal ones we make during inspection. We do this to gather information about the quality of these aspects of care on a national basis. Where we have examined an inspection focus area we will clearly identify it under the relevant quality statement. Fire safety issues We do not regulate fire safety. Local fire and rescue services are responsible for checking services. However, where significant fire safety issues become apparent, we will alert the relevant fire and rescue services so they may consider what action to take. You can find out more about care services' responsibilities for fire safety at Scolty Centre, page 6 of 18

7 What the service has done to meet any requirements we made at our last inspection The requirement The premises used to meet the aims and objectives of a care service must be fit for purpose. In order to achieve this, the service provider must ensure the ongoing review and development of the ways in which the existing premises are used, and if necessary, the consideration of further additional or alternative premises. This is in order to comply with: SSI 2002/114 Regulation 10(2)(a) - to ensure the premises are fit for the purpose of achieving the aims and objectives of the service. Timescale for implementation: within thirty-six weeks of the publication of this report. What the service did to meet the requirement The service had reviewed the premises at the recycle centre and made changes to the environment. People spoken with were happy with the premises. This requirement was seen to have been met. The requirement is: Met The annual return Every year all care services must complete an 'annual return' form to make sure the information we hold is up to date. We also use annual returns to decide how we will inspect the service. Annual Return Received: Yes - Electronic Comments on Self Assessment Every year all care services must complete a 'self assessment' form telling us how their service is performing. We check to make sure this assessment is accurate. The self assessment was completed to a satisfactory standard and provided relevant information for each of the quality statements. The service identified areas of strength as well as areas for development. Scolty Centre, page 7 of 18

8 Taking the views of people using the care service into account All of the service users who were consulted during the inspection, both in person and through the Care Inspectorate inspection questionnaires, were very pleased with the service. People again described positive relationships with staff and talked with enthusiasm about their activities and achievements. Comments included:- * "Scolty centre is a happy place to be and the service provided by Alison Thomson and all the staff is excellent". * "I would like a bit more outdoor activities". * "I am happy with everything at Scolty Centre". * "I love the day centre and without it I would be very sad and wouldn't get to meet my friends who also use the service". The information provided by service users was helpful and very much appreciated. It has been incorporated in this report wherever possible. Taking carers' views into account The personal representatives of service users, consulted during the inspection and through Care Inspectorate inspection questionnaires, were very satisfied with the quality of the service and of the staff. Their comments included:- "As parents we are very happy with the service provided, 'x' looks forward to going." The information provided by service users relatives was helpful and very much appreciated. It has been incorporated in this report wherever possible. Scolty Centre, page 8 of 18

9 3 The inspection We looked at how the service performs against the following quality themes and statements. Here are the details of what we found. Quality Theme 1: Quality of Care and Support Grade awarded for this theme: 5 - Very Good Statement 1 We ensure that service users and carers participate in assessing and improving the quality of the care and support provided by the service. Service strengths During the previous inspections a number of strengths were identified regarding this statement. How the service enabled the service users and others to participate in assessing and improving the quality of care and support was sampled again at this inspection. There was evidence to demonstrate that the service was continuing to perform to a very good standard in relation to this statement. The relaxed open atmosphere continued to be evident throughout this inspection. Interactions between staff and service users continued to be warm and comfortable. Service users told us that meetings continued to be very regularly held and the views of people were actively sought. There were very frequent opportunities for informal discussions between staff, management and service users. We observed the manager and staff advocating on behalf of service users. We saw excellent promotion of people's rights to be involved in the review of the service provided to them. Personal support plans examined had very good evidence of having been reviewed in consultation with the service user or their representative. Minutes were seen to be well detailed including the views of service users and appropriate other people such as their carers or involved professionals. The service made very good use of communication books with some service users who benefited from these. Newsletters continued to be produced by the staff and service users to share information. The service annually sent out questionnaires to gain the views of service users and their carers or other representatives. An external consultation by Arc Scotland had taken place with service users about all aspects of the service provision in the weeks prior to this inspection visit. The report had been shared with the service users at a regularly held service user meeting. Written records examined demonstrated that changes to care needs had been Scolty Centre, page 9 of 18

10 updated. Good communication was undertaken with carers and recorded in service users files. Review notes were seen to be written from the service users perspective. Recommendations made in the previous report were seen to be met. People indicated in the questionnaires we sent that they were asked for their opinions about how to improve the service. Staff continued to be committed to providing a high quality service. Areas for improvement The service should continue to develop how they ensure service users and their carers can participate in assessing and improving the quality of care and support provided by the service. This could include in particular the informal opportunities when people express their views and opinions including those less able to communicate verbally. Grade awarded for this statement: 5 - Very Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Statement 6 People who use, or would like to use the service, and those who are ceasing the service, are fully informed as to what the service provides. Service strengths There were very good systems and information to ensure people who use or would like to use the service, and those who are ceasing the service, are fully informed as to what the service provides. Examination of documentation including referral forms, brochures and meeting minutes demonstrated good information was given to people about the service. Service users, the manager and staff told us that visits to the service were planned so people could see what was on offer. School leavers were being given opportunities to visit and spend time at the service by way of introduction. Key workers had been identified for new service users undergoing introductory visits. This is very good practice. Service users spoken with were very happy with the information given about the service. The manager advised that a DVD was now available to show people what the service offered, with copies available to be given out. The service was planning to show the DVD to the current service users. Areas for improvement Inspection report continued The service was holding meetings for service users and other stakeholders such as carers to consult and inform about the proposed changes and developments to the service. The service was planning to publish the responses on their website. The Scolty Centre, page 10 of 18

11 service will need to further develop the written information available once it has been confirmed how the service will be operating in the future. Grade awarded for this statement: 5 - Very Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Inspection report continued Scolty Centre, page 11 of 18

12 Quality Theme 2: Quality of Environment Grade awarded for this theme: 4 - Good Statement 1 We ensure that service users and carers participate in assessing and improving the quality of the environment within the service. Service strengths Please also see comments under Quality Theme 1, Statement 1 about opportunities provided for service users and their representatives to comment on any aspect of the service. A consultation meeting had been planned to take place a few weeks after the inspection visit with carers and other stakeholders to consult and inform about the proposed changes and developments to the service. Information will be published on the service's website. Areas for improvement The service should sustain and develop the very good practice described and should continue to ensure records reflect these efforts. Grade awarded for this statement: 5 - Very Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Statement 4 The accommodation we provide ensures that the privacy of service users is respected. Service strengths There was evidence that the accommodation provided ensured that good privacy for service users could be respected. Whilst it has been noted in previous reports that the space is limited at the service, we saw that the staff were very mindful of people's rights to privacy. A room was available for people to meet in private. Service users had individual lockers to keep small amounts of personal items private. Most of these had been personalised which also aided recognition. We saw people knock on doors to alert the groups of people that they were coming in to a room. Filing cabinets were seen to be kept locked when not in use. Service users told us that there were opportunities to speak to people in private. They told us that they could use the 'wee room' if they wanted. At the lunch break we saw that people Scolty Centre, page 12 of 18

13 generally all chose to congregate in the one room after they had eaten. The other rooms were available and could be used for more privacy if desired. We saw that staff took great care to provide any personal care and support to people with discretion and dignity. Areas for improvement As has been noted previously in this report and other reports, there are changes and developments planned for the service. The service was aware of the need to ensure the privacy of people can continue to be respected. We observed a discussion about how a service user's locker could be improved to better identify it and thus enable the person to make good use of it. We look forward to seeing this at our next visit. Grade awarded for this statement: 4 - Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Inspection report continued Scolty Centre, page 13 of 18

14 Quality Theme 3: Quality of Staffing - NOT ASSESSED Scolty Centre, page 14 of 18

15 Quality Theme 4: Quality of Management and Leadership - NOT ASSESSED Scolty Centre, page 15 of 18

16 4 Other information Complaints No complaints have been upheld, or partially upheld, since the last inspection. Enforcements We have taken no enforcement action against this care service since the last inspection. Additional Information The service was not following best practice to prevent infection. It had introduced the use shared towels in the communal toilet facilities in an effort to reduce the costs of disposable paper towels. (Disposable paper towels continued to be used in the kitchen and its toilet). Although the shared towels were changed daily, upwards of 30 people could be using these towels. The manager reported that there had been an issue with someone being overly wasteful of the rolls of paper towels that had previously been in place and this had incurred great expense to the service. The manager readily agreed to resume the best practice of providing disposable hand towels for single use to aid in the prevention of infection. The manager advised at a follow-up phone call that as the paper towels were already on the premises they had been re-introduced immediately. Action Plan Failure to submit an appropriate action plan within the required timescale, including any agreed extension, where requirements and recommendations have been made, will result in SCSWIS re-grading the Quality Statement within the Management and Leadership Theme as unsatisfactory (1). This will result in the Quality Theme for Management and Leadership being re-graded as Unsatisfactory (1). Scolty Centre, page 16 of 18

17 5 Summary of grades Quality of Care and Support Very Good Statement 1 Statement Very Good 5 - Very Good Quality of Environment Good Statement 1 Statement Very Good 4 - Good Quality of Staffing - Not Assessed Quality of Management and Leadership - Not Assessed 6 Inspection and grading history Date Type Gradings 15 Nov 2010 Announced Care and support 4 - Good Environment 4 - Good Staffing Not Assessed Management and Leadership Not Assessed 22 Apr 2009 Announced Care and support 5 - Very Good Environment 3 - Adequate Staffing 4 - Good Management and Leadership 4 - Good 8 May 2008 Announced Care and support 4 - Good Environment 2 - Weak Staffing 4 - Good Management and Leadership 4 - Good All inspections and grades before 1 April 2011 are those reported by the former regulator of care services, the Care Commission. Scolty Centre, page 17 of 18

18 To find out more about our inspections and inspection reports Read our leaflet 'How we inspect'. You can download it from our website or ask us to send you a copy by telephoning us on This inspection report is published by SCSWIS. You can get more copies of this report and others by downloading it from our website: or by telephoning Translations and alternative formats This inspection report is available in other languages and formats on request. Telephone: enquiries@scswis.com Web: Scolty Centre, page 18 of 18