Rookery Cottage

Updated 21 April 2022

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic we are looking at how services manage infection control and visiting arrangements. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection prevention and control measures the provider had in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 23 February 2022 and was announced. We gave the service 24 hours' notice of the inspection.

Updated 21 April 2022

About the service

Rookery Cottage is a residential care home providing personal care to six people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to six people. The service cares for adults living with a learning disability, autism, physical and sensory impairments. At the time of the inspection, 20 staff were employed at the care home.

The care home accommodates six people in one adapted building. People live on one of two floors, each with their own bedrooms. Communal facilities include bathrooms, lounge room, dining room and kitchen. There is a large yard that surrounds the back and side of the building.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were protected against abuse and discrimination. There were appropriate risk assessments in place for their care. Some risks related to premises, for example fire safety, were awaiting remedial works to commence. There were sufficient staff deployed to meet people’s needs. The management of medicines was safe; incidents were appropriately reported if there was an error with medicines. Infection prevention and control was satisfactory. Investigations into some serious injuries were ongoing.

We made a recommendation about adaptation, design and decoration of the premises. Staff received appropriate training to ensure they could care for people in the right way. People received food and drinks to prevent malnutrition and dehydration. The service complied with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

The staff were kind and caring. People were encouraged to remain as independent as possible. People’s dignity and privacy was respected and protected by staff.

People’s care plans were satisfactory. The service had recorded people’s communication and sensory impairments; further work was required to ensure that providing information to people in the right way met the NHS Accessible Information Standard. There was an appropriate complaints management system in place.

There was a positive workplace culture. There were clear aims and objectives for the care and support people received. There was a quality improvement system in place, however some remedial actions were delayed by the pandemic. The home manager and operations manager provided evidence and assurance that planned changes were underway.

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.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports the CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting most parts of the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. Some improvements are required. The model of care is satisfactory; it ensured that people could live their lives how they chose and as an individual member of society. People had choice and control in their life. The care was person -centred and promoted people’s dignity, privacy and human rights. The positive workplace culture amongst staff ensure that people received good care. The service requires changes to be made in the premises to ensure that they are meeting the principles of the statutory guidance for people living with a learning disability.

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 14 December 2017).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about falls and serious injuries. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were currently at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the Safe key question of this full report for details.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information 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.