THE Deafness Support Network based in Northwich has been given a ‘Good’ rating by the Care Quality Commission, following a recent inspection of the premises, staff and care level.
The service provides care for up to 24 adults who are deaf or hard of hearing, and who may also have dual sensory impairment, learning disability, physical disability or mental health problems.
The new rating, published in May of this year, is a marked improvement on the network’s previous rating in October 2015, which described that the facility required ‘improvement’.
Two areas for suggested improvement were that care plans and risk assessment documents should be ‘kept up to date and accurate’, and that advice should be sought from a ‘reputable source about a suitable audit system for the service’.
The report found that both of these suggestions had been taken on board, as the service now has a new audit system and all care plans and risk assessments were ‘clear and up to date’.
Bob Birchall, chief executive officer for the Deafness Support Network, said: “All of us at Deafness Support Network are very pleased with the outcome of our recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection.
“This positive inspection has been the result of constantly acting on the evolving needs of our service users, and developing innovative support plans based on those individual needs.
“This independent inspection reflects the great work done by all staff and volunteers, who always work ensure that we continue to improve services, putting the needs of our service users at the forefront of everything we do.”
The team of two inspectors arrived on Tuesday, March 21, after giving 48 hours’ notice, and spoke with not only users of the service but also the registered manager, compliance administrator and three other members of staff. In addition, the care records of three users of the service were examined.
The inspection was carried out by a team of an adult social care inspector and a specialist advisor acting an interpreter in British Sign Language.
Five key areas were examined, including safety, effectiveness, care, responsiveness and leadership. The Deafness Support Network achieved a ‘Good’ rating in all of these aspects.
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