About the service:

Woodbury Short Stay and Shared Lives Scheme provides a short stay service, which included an emergency bed and a shared lives scheme. At the time of this inspection 4 people were living at Woodbury Short Stay and 27 people were being supported by shared lives carers. Some people who are supported by shared lives carers also used Woodbury Short Stay for respite.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

People's experience of using this service:

People and staff told us that the new registered manager had energy and enthusiasm and along with the new staff teams was responsible for the significant improvements to the service.

People and relatives using the short stay facilities and carers at the shared lives scheme told us they had noticed an improvement since our last inspection and were happier with the service provided.

A person who used the service had significant involvement in making Woodbury Short Stay more wheelchair friendly and in creating the new garden. Plans were also in place to change the layout of the communal area to increase, space, bring in more daylight and better access to fresh air.

People told us they felt safe and well looked after when they used Woodbury Short Stay. They told the registered manager as part of a quality assurance exercise that they did not like to be called customers. They thought guests was better and this term has been adopted.

The approval panel membership had increased which meant the shared lives scheme could respond more quickly when people needed support in an emergency. We were told that this had happened twice and the placements had been well matched and very successful.

People told us that they looked forward to and enjoyed their visits to Woobury Short Stay. The atmosphere was said to have improved because the staff team were very welcoming and friendly. They enjoyed laughing with each other and we saw relationships in action at this inspection.

People who used the service had access to a private online account. This meant they could see what activities were happening in within the organisation and keep in touch with friends.

People told us there was more to do when they stayed at Woodbury Short Stay such as celebrating events such as the Chinese New Year and preparing for Valentine’s Day. The service was decorated with the arts and crafts they had produced.

People told us there were always staff available to help them at Woodbury Short Stay.

Oversight and record keeping at the Shared Lives Scheme had improved with the service now working in line with placement agreements. This was because permanent staff were now in place to run the service.

The registered manager had appropriate support from the provider to enable them to meet their responsibilities. The service had also sought advice from other local shared lives schemes who supported them to make changes.

The service met the characteristics for a rating of "good" in all the key questions we inspected. Therefore, our overall rating for the service after this inspection was "good".

More information is in the full report.

Rating at last inspection: At the last inspection the service was rated Requires Improvement (August 2017)

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating of the service at the last inspection.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service through information we receive and future inspections.

This inspection was announced and took place on 22, 24 and 30 August 2017. The services were previously registered under Bury Council and had opted out of local authority control to create Persona Care and Support Limited a new legal entity. This was the first inspection of Woodbury Short Stay and Shared Lives Scheme since the change in legal entity.

Just before our inspection we were informed that, due to a restructure the registered manager for Persona Domiciliary Support Service was also to become the registered manager for Woodbury Short Stay and Shared Lives Scheme. The registered provider had formally notified us of this and this change was schedule to take place in October 2017.

Woodbury Short Stay provides respite care and support to people between 18 and 65 years of age who have a recognised learning disability. At the time of our inspection, three people were using Woodbury Short Stay for respite and one person was staying as an emergency admission.

The Shared Lives Scheme recruits carers to offer family based care and support for people over eighteen years of age. At the time of our visit 22 shared lives carers were supporting 25 people either in long term, respite or day placements. There were 12 people in long-term placements, three people using respite placements and 10 people using the day support or befriending service.

At this inspection, we found four breaches in the regulations, which are the fundamental standards. This was because medicines were not safely managed, risk assessments relating two people’s specific care needs were not up to date, staff training records were not up to date, and the services governance systems had not identified the shortfalls. Although we saw a range of records at the Shared Lives Scheme office, we did not see any records of people’s care and support at the shared lives carers' home.

The service had a manager who was registered with Care Quality Commission (CQC). A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The outgoing registered manager of Woodbury Short Stay and Shared Lives Scheme was present during this inspection.

Staff had received training in safeguarding adults. They were able to tell us of the action they would take to protect people who used the service from the risk of abuse.

Procedures were in place to help ensure staff were safely recruited to ensure that people were not supported by staff who were unsuitable to work with vulnerable people.

People received reliable, consistent and flexible support from staff and shared lives carers who knew them well.

We saw sufficient numbers of support workers, supported by additional casual and agency staff at Woodbury Short Stay to help ensure people’s assessed needs and wishes were met.

We were informed that the Shared Lives Scheme was over capacity in relation to shared lives carers and shared lives workers to support them. However, we saw that a further part time shared lives worker was in the process of being recruited. The registered provider told us they were in discussion with local authority commissioners looking at ways to develop the scheme.

Systems were in place to reduce the risk of cross infection.

At Woodbury Short Stay people’s fluid and food intake was closely monitored.

Significant improvements been made to Woodbury Short Stay in the new service. The service used new technology where appropriate to help promote peoples independence.

The atmosphere at Woodbury Short Stay was seen to be calm and relaxed and people appeared happy to be there.

People had the opportunity to be involved in social activities.

There had been no complaints or concerns raised about both services in the past year.

Staff members