- Care home
Levitt Mill
Report from 18 April 2024 assessment
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
We visited the service on 14 and 26 August 2024. Levitt Mill is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 11 people with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder. At the time of the assessment there were 10 people using the service. Accommodation is in 2 houses, The Mill and The Barn. The service is larger than best practice guidelines. However, this is offset by the service being provided in 2 separate buildings and having a strong focus on outcomes for people, meeting the principles of ‘Right support, right care, right culture.’ The Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it. Levitt Mill was last rated Good (published 19 July 2019). This assessment has been completed following CQC’s new approach to assessment; the Single Assessment Framework (SAF). Our rating for this service remains Good. The assessment team was 2 inspectors and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. During our visits we spoke with 6 people using the service. Some people had limited verbal communication, so we observed care by spending time with people. We spoke with 7 staff including the registered manager and general manager. We also spoke with 2 people’s relatives by phone and received feedback from 2 health and social care professionals.
People's experience of this service
People indicated they felt safe living at Levitt Mill. For instance, one person said they felt safe and happy. When asked if they liked living at the service, people indicated they did. One person said, “Yes, I like it.” and another person nodded and smiled. Some people relied on a mix of verbal and non-verbal ways of communicating. One person’s body language was relaxed and positive indicating they felt safe with the staff. The relatives we spoke with were positive about the service. People told us of a variety of activities and hobbies they enjoyed taking part in at Levitt Mill, and in the community. People confirmed their family and friends were free to visit them. People’s relatives felt people were encouraged to be as independent as possible. People and their relatives were involved in decisions about people’s care and support. 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. There were no undue restrictions on people receiving visits and we saw people’s visitors coming and going throughout the day of our assessment visit. People’s relatives felt people were treated with dignity and respect. People’s and there were enough staff to meet people’s needs. People were well supported with their medicines and staff helped people to keep their houses clean, safe and comfortable. During our visits we saw people supported by staff who knew them well and were attentive and respectful.