The Whitby Scheme

The Whitby Scheme is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The Whitby Scheme accommodates 35 people across three separate homes, each of which have separate adapted facilities. Abbey House is the most recent addition and accommodates six people, Haven House accommodates six people, Anchor House can accommodate eight people and Endeavour House can accommodate 15 people. Three of the houses are situated close to one another around a courtyard with the fourth located about half a mile away. At the time of our inspection, 33 people were using the service.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good. At this inspection, we found the service remained Good.

There was a registered manager in post who assisted throughout the inspection.

Safe recruitment process had continued to be followed and appropriate pre-employment checks had been completed. A safeguarding policy was in place and staff were aware of the process to follow if they had any concerns. Risk assessments had been developed to reduce the risk of harm occurring. There was a sufficient number of staff on duty to support people.

Medicines had been stored, administered and recorded appropriately. Staff had received medicines training and had their competencies assessed by a senior member of staff. Person protective equipment such as gloves were available to staff to promote good infection control practice.

New staff had completed an induction to the service. Staff training records were up to date and specialist training had also been provided. Regular supervisions and appraisals had been conducted by management and staff told us they felt supported within their role.

People were empowered to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. Policies and systems in the service support this practice. Consent to care and treatment was clearly documented and appropriate authorisations were in place when people lacked capacity to make decisions.

People were supported to maintain a balanced diet and people had access to their own GP and other healthcare professionals to promote their health.

People were supported to remain as independent as possible and there was clear emphasis on helping people maintain daily living skills. People were treated with dignity and their choices were respected by staff.

Initial and on-going needs assessments were completed. Transition periods were accommodated to ensure people could move smoothly between services. Care plans had been developed and included background information centred on the individual. There was a complaint policy in place which was displayed around the services in easy read format.

People gave us positive feedback about the management team. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. People were given the opportunity to feedback about the quality of care they received. We saw the management team responded in a timely manner to any feedback provided to enable the service to continuously improve.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found