Eco Nights

This CQC report provides an overview of Eco Nights, a respite service for younger people with learning disabilities and autism. The inspection assessed how the service supports individuals, the quality of care provided, its responsiveness to needs, and its leadership. While the service aims to provide a comfortable and community-accessible environment, the report highlights areas where improvements are needed to ensure consistent safety and effective management practices.

On safety, while relatives felt their loved ones were safe and staff understood abuse prevention, the service needs to improve its investigations into incidents to ensure lessons are learned and to better document staff interventions before resorting to restraint. There were also concerns regarding the secure storage of hazardous substances and the inconsistent use of personal protective equipment.

In terms of how effective the care is, staff were noted to provide kind and appropriate care, supporting individuals with their healthcare needs and communication methods. However, a significant concern was raised about agency staff not always knowing the names or genders of the people they were supporting, and resident profiles not always being readily available for all individuals.

When considering the caring aspect, the home is described as having a pleasant environment with individually themed bedrooms, suggesting resident involvement. Staff were able to enable people to access healthcare and supported them with their medicines.

Regarding how responsive the service is, individuals were able to use communal areas and have privacy. Staff were enabled to support people to access healthcare provision and services in consultation with relatives. However, improvements are needed in ensuring all staff are fully aware of resident needs and communication preferences, particularly when agency staff are involved.

On leadership, the management team received positive feedback from relatives regarding their supportiveness and communication. However, the oversight and monitoring of the service require enhancement to proactively identify and address areas for improvement. Not all staff were aware of the core principles guiding the service, and some administrative processes, such as induction for new staff and reporting of incidents, needed strengthening.