The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated LD Care – Moreton Avenue outstanding following an inspection in May.
Moreton Avenue is a care home for autistic people and people with learning disabilities, and there were two people living in the home at the time of inspection.
The service’s overall rating has risen from good to outstanding, as have its ratings for responsive and well-led. Its ratings for safe, effective and caring have again been rated as good.
Hayley Moore, CQC’s deputy director for safeguarding and closed cultures, said:
“When we inspected Moreton Avenue we were very pleased to find leaders had encouraged a strong culture of placing people’s individual needs and preferences at the heart of their care.
“We saw people had very close and equal relationships with the staff caring for them, and one person’s relative told us the home was like a family.
“The people living in the service couldn’t share their preferences with words, but staff knew how to understand the other ways they communicated, such as body language. Where people couldn’t give a preference, we saw staff respected their independence by explaining the choices they were making for them.
“We also found staff supported and encouraged people to enjoy their own interests, such as aromatherapy and making music, and arranged activities outside the home such as trips to a castle and the beach. This allowed people to have the full and meaningful lives most people take for granted.
“We’ve shared our findings with the provider so they can continue building on the good practice we saw during this inspection. Other service providers should look to our report for Moreton Avenue, to see if there is anything they can learn, and to promote improvements across the sector to support people to lead their best lives.”
Inspectors also found:
- People were cared for in safe and well-maintained environments, which were personalised to help them feel at home
- The service supported people to be involved with the local community and to have social lives
- Staff supported people's religious and cultural needs by preparing them individual food and helping them celebrate special events
- Leaders supported staff to continually improve the care they provided people and asked for feedback from people’s loved ones
- Staff were passionate about the care they provided people and were overcome by emotion when telling inspectors about it.