Newton House

Updated 19 April 2023

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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

This inspection was completed by 1 inspector, an Expert by Experience and an interpreter. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. An interpreter supported us to communicate with people whose first language was not English, to enable them to share their experience of the service.

Service and service type

Newton House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Newton House Care Home is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

The service was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 9 people who used the service, and we also observed staff interaction with people, to help us understand people’s experience. We spoke with the deputy manager, a senior support worker and 2 support workers. We spoke with 1 visiting health care professional. We reviewed in part 8 people’s care records and 3 staff files. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service. This included audits and checks, medicine records, staff deployment, staff training and support and meeting records.

Updated 19 April 2023

About the service

Newton House is a care home for 26 people with mental health needs and/or learning disabilities. The home provides services for people from the Asian communities. People are accommodated in one 20-bedded house and 2, 3 bedroomed houses. At the time of our inspection there were 13 people using the service.

We 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 assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

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

Staffing levels were not sufficient. There was not enough staff deployed to meet the individual needs of people and to complete cleaning and laundry tasks. The provider took immediate action and increased staffing levels.

Staff received training, but gaps were identified in the training staff had completed. The induction did not support staff to follow the Care Certificate standards expected by providers. Staff had been recruited safely.

Risks associated with a person’s health condition and support needs lacked staff guidance. A concern was also identified in how a person’s prescribed medicine was being managed.

Infection prevention and control measures needed strengthening, to reduce the risks associated with cross contamination and the spread of infection.

The environment showed areas that needed improving upon. The management team had identified actions required and a plan was in place to address these.

Provider oversight and leadership did not include compliance visits to complete audits and checks. The provider had identified this as an area for improvement and was in the process appointing an external company to complete this.

Right Support: Overall, care plans provided staff with information about how to meet people’s individual needs 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.

Right Care: Care staff knew people and what was important to them, including their routines and preferences. People spoke highly of the staff’ teams kind and caring approach. Social inclusion was promoted, enabling people to be a part of their local community. People’s communication, religious and cultural needs were supported and respected.

Right Culture: The culture of the service was positive. Staff shared the provider’s vision and values and people received support to achieve positive outcomes. People were positive about living at Newton House and felt safe and well cared for. People received opportunities to share their experience of the service they received.

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 3 May 2019).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Newton House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement

We have identified 3 breaches in relation to safe care and treatment, staff training and support and the governance at this inspection.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.