17 York Avenue

This report summarises an inspection of 17 York Avenue, a residential care home. The inspection assessed how safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led the service is, with a focus on person-centred care for individuals with diverse needs including learning disabilities and mental health conditions. The overall findings indicate a service that provides good care in many areas, but highlights key opportunities for improvement to ensure consistent high-quality support.

On safety, the home maintained good standards. People were kept safe and protected from avoidable harm, with robust systems for medication management and safeguarding. Staffing levels were stable and sufficient to meet resident needs, and recruitment processes were safe.

In terms of how effective the care is, the service requires improvement. While the layout met resident needs, the standard of décor and furnishings in communal areas and one bedroom was poor and needs updating. Additionally, care records sometimes lacked detail and consistency, particularly concerning medication and risk assessments.

Regarding how caring the service is, it continues to provide good support. Staff demonstrated they knew residents well, responding to individual needs with kindness, dignity, and respect. The home fosters a positive culture that celebrates residents' ethnic and religious backgrounds, actively involving them in decisions about their care and promoting their independence.

On being responsive, the service remains good. Care planning is personalised and based on residents' expressed needs and preferences, with efforts made to accommodate gender preferences for staff where possible. Residents have choice and control over their lives, and their communication needs are assessed and supported appropriately.

Finally, the service is not always well-led, requiring improvement in this area. While the manager is actively addressing some issues identified during the inspection, there are ongoing concerns regarding the maintenance of records and the standard of the premises. The provider has plans for refurbishing communal areas, but these do not currently extend to residents' private bedrooms.