The Chase

Updated 12 July 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 carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

The Chase is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. The Chase 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 provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection 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 the registered manager, 5 care staff and 2 people who lived at the home. After the site visit, we sought feedback from 4 relatives.

We reviewed records in relation to the running of the home, this included 4 people’s care plans and risk assessments, quality assurance, staff training and 4 recruitment files.

Updated 12 July 2023

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.

About the service

The Chase is a residential care home registered to provide accommodation and personal care support for up to 9 people with a learning disability and autistic people. At the time of the inspection 9 people were living at the home.

The home was spacious and arranged over 2 floors. People were able to move around freely and enjoy a large communal space and garden.

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

Right Support: People living at The Chase were kept safe. Care plans and risk assessments were effective in keeping people safe and reducing the risk of harm. People were supported to make choices and have staff provide explanations if they were unable to do something. The home met people’s individual needs and provide sensory activities for people who needed them. Independence was encouraged as much as possible, and people enjoyed being able to help out in the kitchen. 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: The care people received was from kind, compassionate and patient staff. People’s privacy and dignity was protected, and staff did not discriminate against people at the home. Each person living at the home had an individual care plan detailing their preferences and how to clearly support them if in distress. Staff understood their safeguarding responsibilities and how to identify and report potential abuse. People were supported to make choices about what to eat and drink and were supported to eat culturally specific meals if they wished. Staff received training to support them in their role and could approach the registered manager for additional support.

Right Culture: The atmosphere was welcoming and positive. Staff were observed to have time for each person living at The Chase. The care and treatment of people was a priority at the home to ensure they received good health outcomes. Quality monitoring took place to embed good practice and to check staff knew what was expected of them.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update – The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 25 March 2020). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

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

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.