Background to this inspection
Updated
11 February 2020
The inspection
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
Two inspectors carried out the inspection.
Service and service type
18 Wolverton Gardens is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission at the time of the inspection. The home’s manager had recently applied for registration with the CQC and their application was being processed at the time of this inspection. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was unannounced.
Before the inspection
We used the information the manager sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.
We reviewed the evidence we had about the service. This included any notifications of significant events, such as serious injuries or safeguarding referrals. Notifications are information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.
We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with two people who lived at the home and one visiting health professional. Some people were unable to tell us about their experience. We observed the support they received and their interactions with staff. We spoke with five staff including the home’s manager, the provider’s service manager and care staff.
We looked at care records for two people, including their assessments, care plans and risk assessments. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed. We checked medicines management and recording and accident and incident records.
After the inspection
We spoke with two relatives for their comments on the service. We also received feedback from two professionals who regularly visit the service. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training records, staffing schedules and further documents related to people’s care.
Updated
11 February 2020
About the service
18 Wolverton Gardens is a care home providing accommodation and personal care to up to five people living with profound learning disabilities and complex physical health needs. The home is a purpose-built bungalow. At the time of the inspection five people lived in the home.
The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible. People using the service received person-centred support that was appropriate and inclusive for them.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People’s well-being was enhanced as a result of the way staff cared for them. People were encouraged to be as independent as possible and to be involved in decisions about their care. People were treated with consistent respect and dignity and staff valued people’s individual characteristics. They had personalised care plans that guided staff on how to meet their care and communication needs in a person-centred way.
Family members told us their relative was safe. Staff understood their roles in safeguarding people from harm. Risks to people were assessed and identified. There was guidance for staff on how to manage these risks safely. There was a process to identify learning from accidents, incidents and safeguarding concerns. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and safe recruitment practices were in place. Medicines were safely managed. Staff were supported to ensure they had suitable skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs.
People were asked for their consent before care was provided. People’s nutritional needs were assessed and monitored. There was access to health and social care professionals as required. There was an accessible complaints system and there had been two complaints since the last inspection. These were resolved in a timely manner.
Family members and staff told us the manager promoted an open culture of communication and staff confirmed they felt well supported by him. The provider used effective systems of quality assurance and governance which improved people’s experience of care.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was GOOD (published 03 October 2017).
Why we inspected:
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up:
We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.