Aucklands Care

Updated 14 December 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.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

Aucklands Care 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. Aucklands Care 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 held about the service and contacted the local authority. 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 to 3 people and received feedback from 5 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We sought feedback from 15 members of staff, this included the registered manager and nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We received written feedback from 4 health and social care professionals.

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 2 people's care and support records and 3 people's medicine administration records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and training.

We also reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, audits, accident and incident records, safeguarding records and reports.

Updated 14 December 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

Aucklands Care is a residential care home providing personal care to 8 people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 10 people, the first floor is accessible by a stair lift.

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

Right Support:

The service gave people care and support in a safe environment. The service supported people to have choice, control and independence. People were able to pursue their chosen interests without being at risk of harm. For example, staffing levels were adjusted to enable people the opportunity to leave the building and visit local amenities when they wished. Staff communicated with people in ways that met their needs. Staff supported people with their medicines to achieve the best possible health outcome.

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:

People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and, understood their individual communication needs. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. People's care, treatment and support plans reflected their range of needs, and this promoted positive wellbeing and enjoyment of life.

Right Culture:

People and their relatives described the staff as, “Extremely caring” and told us, “The registered manager here watches over things to keep me safe”.

People and those important to them, were involved in planning their care. The provider evaluated the quality of support provided to people, involving the person, their families and other professionals as appropriate. The management of the home valued and acted upon people's views.

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 outstanding (published 12 March 2018).

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.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service remains outstanding. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

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

Follow up

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