Archived: Poppy Cottage

Updated 7 September 2016

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection took place on the 26 and 28 July 2016 and was unannounced; this meant that the staff and provider did not know we were visiting. The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Before the inspection, the provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). The PIR is a form that the provider submits to the Commission which gives us key information about the service, what it does well and what improvements they plan to make. We reviewed notifications and any other information we had received since the last inspection. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We gave the provider an opportunity to share evidence of what it did well and what they had planned for the future. They told us about a new supported living home they were due to open.

We spoke with three people who were receiving care and support and one relative. We spoke with the registered manager, the operational manager and four other staff members. We reviewed four staff recruitment files and four care plans within the service and cross referenced practice against the provider’s own policies and procedures. After the site visit we contacted a further 10 relatives to seek feedback of the service.

We also contacted social care and healthcare professionals with knowledge of the service. This included people who commission care on behalf of the local authority and health or social care professionals responsible for people who were supported by Poppy Cottage.

Updated 7 September 2016

This inspection took place on 26 and 28 July 2016. It was an unannounced visit to the service.

We previously inspected the service on 08 October 2014. The service was meeting the requirements of the regulations at that time.

Poppy Cottage is registered to provide personal care. It provided this within supported living accommodation. At the time of our inspection sixteen people were being supported by the service.

The service had a registered manager in post. 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.

We received some outstanding feedback from people and their relatives. Comments included, “In our opinion Poppy is excellent, and the care she receives is outstanding and she has improved in so many ways due to the care she is given”, “Our opinion of the way Poppy is managed we feel it is of the highest standard”, “We definitely recommend the service”, “I feel safe, as the staff are always around” and “It’s a safe haven for her, I am reassured that she is looked after.”

People were protected from avoidable harm as the service had safeguarding procedures and staff knew what to do should a safeguarding concern be raised.

Poppy Cottage prides itself on providing a personalised service which helped people to achieve their maximum potential. We received many examples of how the service had supported people to move from supported living to more independent living. The registered manager told us “One of the main reasons were all so passionate about our work is because all our staff including myself are equal. I’ ve always maintained each of us are on the same level, some of us have more qualifications and experience but our work ethic is the same, it's the way I've always worked with staff and I believe it works, our staff are always willing to go the extra mile.”

People were supported by staff with the right skills and attributes as the service had a robust recruitment process. All the required checks were made.

People received their medicines when required and staff only provided support with medicines after they had received the appropriate training.

People were supported to undertake activities of their choice. Staff met with each person every week to plan forthcoming events. This ensured there was enough staff on duty to make sure the activities took place. In the event of unplanned absences of staff, other staff were flexible to cover the shifts. Where possible people were supported to attend work placements and or college.

Care plans were written in a way to ensure staff knew how to support people; they were reviewed on a regular basis to ensure the information was up to date.

People were supported to maintain a healthy lifestyle and were supported to attend important medical appointments.

People and their relatives had confidence in the management team. Comments included “I have always found that (manager) and her team not only provide the care that you would expect from a Supported Living environment but are always willing to go the ‘extra mile’ to make sure their service users are happy and well adjusted” and “We are confident she is very good hands.”