Membership review for Kirk House

This membership review is intended to reflect the experiences of the visitor who might be looking for a placement. It is subjective, consistent and impartial and reflects the impressions of our team member on the day of the visit. It is a snapshot view only. The contents of the review are intended to cover some of the subjects and issues.

This review has been published with the written agreement of the home owner or an authorised representative of the company.

Introduction

Home from Home Care is a small group of residential homes for people with autism and learning difficulties situated in Lincolnshire.  I visited the Old Hall, Kirk House and the Hawthorns. The Old Hall and the Hawthorns had Rebecca Jessop as Registered Manager and Kirk House was managed by Jill Davis. 

Both Kirk House and The Hawthorns were undergoing significant development to extend their services and the Old Hall has recently been extended.  Each of the three services had the same staffing structures and administrative systems in place.

Summary of Findings

On the day of the visit, I was greeted by Paul de Savary, the owner of the Group. He told me of the ethos on which the service is based before introducing me to Rebecca, the Locality Manager and Julie who manages the small day service attached to Kirk House. Paul and his wife were clearly passionate about ensuring that the service users are engaged in meaningful activities in order to reduce anxieties and maximise skills and interests.

Each home has an Assistant Manager, plus 4 or more Team Leaders together with a team of Personal Support Workers at levels 1, 2 and 3 depending upon their experience and qualifications. The staffing structure is intended to ensure that the Assistant Manager of the home spends three days per week “on the shop floor” working with service users and with other support staff passing on their skills and experience, and two days attending to paperwork. The Registered Manager can then focus her time on training, reviews and developing the services. 

It appeared from my observations on the day that this service provides the standard of care which is described in the brochure.

Environment (External)

The Old Hall:

Situated in the village of Fiskerton approximately four miles from the city of Lincoln, the Old Hall is well concealed, set back from the main road through the village. There were no signs or notices to indicate that it was anything other than an ordinary large private residence. The large main building forms the main part of the service and on either side were small single occupancy flats known as the Mews.

The approach was well presented, the landscaping included parking for several cars, shrubs and small garden areas in front and to the side of the Mews.

The Hawthorns: 

Situated in the village of Bardney, a large gate forms the entrance to the Hawthorns. It is a large Victorian House set back from the main road. On the day of my visit the service was registered for 9 service users, however was being developed to accommodate a further 8.

The large gardens were mainly given over to lawn and shrubs with some arches for climbing plants. To the side was a small single storey building which formed flats for two people with a communal dining/kitchen in the middle. Each flat had its own sitting room and bedroom.

Kirk House: 

This service is also a large Victorian building set back from the main road from Lincoln to Sleaford, being nearer to the latter.

There was a large area at the front of the house to accommodate staff and visitor parking. The large rear garden was experiencing a period of development as further living accommodation for 6 people was under construction. Also to the rear of this service was a small single storey building known as the Coach House which formed a day centre to provide activities for service users from the local community. This was a relatively new aspect of the service and could accommodate up to 14 service users in total.

A small animal area provides home to some rabbits and ducks. There were seating areas in each of the gardens. 

Environment (Internal)

An important feature of each of the services I visited was the size of the living accommodation. The three residences each had a large kitchen-cum-dining area at their heart. The bedrooms were all good sized doubles with en-suite bathrooms.

The bathrooms were large and each was piped to enable the service user to choose either a bath or a shower.

Each service also had a good range of sitting areas so that anxious service users could withdraw to a quiet area if they chose.

The decorations in the homes were fresh, and the walls painted with subdued colours although the tiling in the kitchens and bathrooms provided a cheerful contrast.

Each home was in good repair and I was informed that any repairs were carried out swiftly by the maintenance man employed by the organisation.

Service users are encouraged to make their own choices about furnishings, furniture and colour schemes and can personalise their rooms to their own taste.

Some areas had symbols on the cupboard doors to indicate their contents; however I was told that they are not necessary in all areas.

Medication was stored in a locked room in accordance with UKCC guidelines. The pharmacist from the local Boots chemist audits the medication regularly. None of the service users administered their own medication as those that were able, were not prescribed any.

The Wider Environment

The organisation provides transport for the service users to access local facilities. There are also good public transport links to Lincoln at the Fiskerton Service.

The Old Hall is situated approximately 4 miles from the city of Lincoln. Lincoln is a historic city with a vibrant university campus and the usual range of high street shops, cafés and entertainment.

Kirk House is in the village of Dorrington, a few miles from Sleaford.

There was also access to a local sports complex, including a swimming pool which was hired weekly exclusively for the use of the Home from Home service users.

Kirk House is closer to Sleaford which is a small market town in the south of Lincolnshire.

All homes are within easy travelling distance from Skegness and Mablethorpe on the Lincolnshire coast.

There was a sensory room at each service.

Understanding Autism

Each service provides accommodation for service users with autism most of whom have an additional learning difficulty.

All staff receive training in autism awareness during their induction period and further training is given throughout their service.

It is important to the staff and it is the ethos of Home from Home Care that all service users are able to maximise their skills and reduce anxieties and live confident, fulfilled lives.

Referrals come from local authorities, many from the London area. After the initial contact the Assessment Manager and her assistant would visit the potential service user. If it was considered that the needs could be met, the Operations team (including the Registered Manager) would collectively make the final decision and place the individual in the most suitable service. The manager told me that transitions took place at a pace to suit the individual. It has been known to take a year.

In some areas of each facility I saw symbols to indicate cupboard contents. I was informed that daily programmes use symbols where applicable to the individual. Not all individuals require symbols to aid communications.

Individuals in the Home

Home from Home Care are registered to take individuals over the age of 18 years. I saw service users with a wide range of disability including complex physical issues. Within the services they are placed according to compatibility.

The service users I saw seemed calm and happy and interacted well with the staff who were treating them with respect.

Home from Home Care have ground floor accommodation for wheelchair users. In addition each service has a lift apart from the Old Hall

A Monday Club was held weekly at Kirk house. This was for all service users to attend and activities such as snooker, outings and discos took place.

Health and Wellbeing

Although service users are encouraged to make choices regarding their menus, they are advised in the need for a well- balanced, nutritious diet.

Some had their own budgets for food and did their own shopping. A local sports complex, including a swimming pool was also hired exclusively for the Home from Home service users.

Psychological support could be accessed from the local NHS.

Within the organisation an advocacy forum known as “Our Voices” has been formed. Each home had a representative who attends meetings and takes part in quality assurance exercises to ensure that the service users’ views are heard.

Staffing

Staffing levels were ascertained in accordance with the needs of the service users. The high levels enable staff to manage anxieties of the service users and remain calm. The staffing structure had been formulated to ensure that the most appropriate staff are allocated to support individuals.  This is done through creating core teams around each person supported.

Rebecca, the locality manager, who had registered manager responsibilities for The Old Hall and the Hawthorns, supervises senior staff at each establishment and attends service users’ reviews. Two assistant managers focus on registered manager duties in the individual services. Jill Davis was responsible for all staff at Kirk House.

The recruitment process starts with a telephone interview. If the application was to proceed a formal interview would take place.

DRB(formerly CRB) checks were obtained before the staff member was allowed to work with the service users. Two satisfactory references must also be received.

Induction training included autism awareness, fire safety, basic food hygiene, safeguarding amongst other statutory training. Safeguarding training is reviewed annually. Further training takes place at regular intervals throughout the employment of the staff member.

Staff in each home were accredited to deliver NPTC training (National Proficiency Testing Council) which meant that they could teach City and Guilds courses.

Staff with particular skills or interests (in horticulture, small animals, conservation, re-cycling or hospitality) take responsibility for these subjects when working with the service users.

Police volunteers had spent time working with service users as part of their disability awareness induction training. They were never allowed to work without staff support/supervision.

Staff supervisions take place monthly.

All staff are encouraged to work towards NVQ level 3. Some of the staff employed had a degree.

I was told that there is a very low staff turnover.

A staff Handbook was issued to staff during the induction period. This contained all information they need regarding holiday entitlement, protocols and important policies and procedures.

Management of the Home

Home from Home Care employ a Quality Assurance and Compliance manager who does a monthly audit of all aspects involved in the running of the services.

Rebecca informed me that there was significant focus on keeping families involved in all areas of the service users’ care. They were contacted on a regular basis determined by the family member. They were all invited to attend reviews.

Both managers and other staff are expected to attend internal and external training courses and there were plans for them to attend dementia training in the near future.

All staff were aware of the communication and sensory needs that present difficulties for some people with autism.

Conclusion

The reception I received from the owner and his team was welcoming and Rebecca and Julie spent considerable time explaining systems and showing me around the services, introducing me to staff and service user’s at all three services.

I was impressed with the size of the rooms in each establishment and the quality of the fixtures and fittings. Every area I saw was well presented, fresh and tidy.

It was also clear that the staff knew their clients well and appeared to treat them with kindness and respect.

I would like to extend my thanks to Rebecca and Julie for the time and courtesy extended to me during my visit and to wish Home from Home Care all the best for the future.

 

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Visiting Officer

Pat Clendining

Director of Client Services, Living Autism