Background to this inspection
Updated
9 March 2019
The inspection
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team:
One inspector carried out this inspection.
Service and service type
73 Commonside is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
At the time of this inspection the service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. The registered manager was also the registered provider. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
Notice of inspection
This inspection site visit took place on 13 February 2019 and was unannounced.
What we did:
Before our inspection visit, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed information we held about the service in the form of statutory notifications received from the service and any safeguarding or whistleblowing incidents, which may have occurred. A statutory notification is information about important events, which the provider is required to send us by law.
We asked the local authority and Healthwatch for any information they had which would aid our inspection. We used this information as part of our planning. Local authorities together with other agencies may have responsibility for funding people who used the service and monitoringits quality. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion, which promotes the views and experiences of people who use health and social care services.
We spoke with four people living at 73 Commonside. In addition, we spoke with the registered manager and one senior support worker.
We reviewed a range of records. This included one person’s care and medication records. We confirmed the safe recruitment of one staff member and reviewed records relating to the provider's quality monitoring, health and safety and staff training.
Updated
9 March 2019
About the service:
73 Commonside is a care home that accommodates up to six people living with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder. At the time of our inspection there were five people living at the home.
The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen. 'Registering the Right Support' CQC policy.
What life is like for people using this service:
People received safe care and support as the staff team had been trained to recognise signs of abuse or risk and understood what to do to safely support people. People received safe support with their medicines by staff who had received training and who had been assessed as competent. The provider had systems in place to respond to any medicine errors. The provider completed regular checks to ensure that people were receiving the right medicine at the right time. Staff members followed effective infection prevention and control procedures. When risks to people’s health and welfare were identified, the provider acted to minimise the likelihood of occurrence.
The provider supported staff in providing effective care for people through person-centred care planning, training, supervision. People were promptly referred to additional healthcare services when required. People were supported to maintain a healthy diet and had choice regarding their food and drinks. The environment where people lived was well maintained and suited people’s needs and preferences.
People received help and support from a kind and compassionate staff team with whom they had positive relationships. People were supported by staff members who were aware of their individual protected characteristics like age and gender and disability. People were supported to develop their independence and actively took part in decisions about where they lived.
People participated in a range of activities that met their individual choices and preferences and that they found interesting and stimulating. People were provided with information in a way that they could understand. Policies and guidelines important to people were provided in an easy to read format with pictures to aid their understanding.
The provider had systems in place to encourage and respond to any complaints or compliments from people or visitors.
The provider understood the requirements of their registration with the Care Quality Commission and was meeting the legal requirements. The provider had effective systems to monitor the quality of the service they provided and to drive improvements where needed. The provider had good links with the local community which people benefited from.
More information in Detailed Findings below.
Rating at last inspection: Good (date last report published 25 January 2016).
Why we inspected:
This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection, ‘Good.’ At this inspection we found the service remained good in all key questions with an overall rating of ‘Good.’
Follow up:
We will continue to monitor all intelligence received about the service to ensure the next planned inspection is scheduled accordingly.