Quality at Avenues
We’re determined to provide consistently high-quality services, so have robust frameworks that are followed across the Avenues Group.
Quality is important to the people we support, their families and our commissioners. And it’s important to us – we want to keep doing better, and we collaborate with this wider Avenues community to create services where people thrive.
We take into account the standards set by our regulators the CQC, and the expectations of our stakeholder groups. But we also look to go the extra mile, and push for more where we see further opportunities.
A summary of our frameworks and supporting work can be found below, along with links to more detailed framework documents.
Quality framework:
The Avenues Quality Framework was written to ensure continuous improvement across our services, it gives a detailed explanation of each quality process including why it is important for the people we support.
It sets out the how Quality Assurance Team work with Practice Development and Operations to maintain and develop the quality of support in our services.
Avenues expectation is that all services will be rated by CQC our regulator as good or outstanding.
Health framework:
The Avenues Health Framework and the accompanying guidelines were written following our internal research into life-limiting conditions and our implementation of a new Health Action Planning process.
Avenues strives to ensure the health and wellbeing of all of the people we support. We recognise that people who have a learning disability often face inequalities when accessing healthcare. We will empower and advocate on behalf of the people we support to ensure that they have access to high quality health care, challenging where needed.
The framework recognises the basic principle that people should be able to exercise maximum personal responsibility over their own lives and decisions, as appropriate to their capacity.
Coproduction:
By working collaboratively and inclusively with people we support and stakeholders (including family members) we ensure that we maintain accountability with a cross section of people, we ensure that the direction of the organisation with our mission statement, future plans and direct support provided is shaped by people with lived experience.
This year we will be working to:
- Set up Local Engagement groups for people we support to have a voice within the organisation and at board level.
- Set up a Family Reference Group to help us shape the Group’s communications and processes.
- Employ people we support as Quality Checkers who will carry out audits of local services
- Design coproduction training packages and action plans for central office departments.
Annual stakeholder surveys:
These are sent to family, friends, and other professionals involved in or with a vested interest in the care and support within our services.
We use the feedback from these surveys to inform our practice back into services, our strategic plan and coproduction project plan.
From our latest feedback the organisation has:
- Sent out a Coronavirus impact survey to stakeholders to obtain more detailed information to build future action plans based on lessons learned.
- Started work to develop more accessible information.
- Set up the Family Reference Group to work more co-productively with family members.
Supporting staff:
We know well supported people support people well, and are committed to employee development. Ore Practice Leadership Training is designed to ensure:
- improved quality of life and wellbeing of people we support and operational employees
- Active Support is embedded and continued (including data collection and quality assurance processes) during pandemic/crisis circumstances
- Active Support is embedded and sustained in the long term
- all of our practice leaders have the knowledge and skills set to follow and embed Active Support and PBS within their services
- all practice leaders are aware of the organisation’s needs and expectations of a Practice Leader within our services
- strong relationships and networks between operational management teams group wide.
Avenues has a commitment to Mindfulness as a technique to support staff wellbeing, and offers formal and informal training to all staff. It’s also available to people we support.