Ryver House, a care service in Plymouth, has been rated outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), following an inspection undertaken in December.
Ryver House is an adapted residential care home providing personal care for up to three people. The service is registered to provide support to younger adults with a learning disability and/or autistic people who may have care needs around their physical disability or sensory impairment. The service had been developed and designed specifically for the individuals living there.
As well as being rated outstanding overall, it was rated outstanding for being responsive and well-led. It was rated good for being safe, effective and caring.
Debbie Ivanova, CQC’s director for people with a learning disability and autistic people, said:
“The care provided to people at Ryver House was outstanding. We found a culture which was extremely person centred, inclusive and empowering.
“People were supported to live their lives the way they wanted to and were supported by staff to express themselves in the choices they made in relation to the work they undertook, sports they followed, the clothes they wore and the music they enjoyed.
“Throughout the inspection, we saw many examples of how people's lives had been enriched since moving to Ryver House. Examples included, supporting a person to develop and improve their mobility by hydrotherapy and intense exercise sessions. Another example of support included helping a person to gain a place on a traineeship which would provide them with the skills to do voluntary work.
“We found this to be a well-run and supportive service that focused on people’s needs. Other services should look at this as an example of the high standards of care people should expect.”
Inspectors found:
- The registered manager and staff team were extremely knowledgeable about people's known risks and were able to anticipate and identify concerns quickly
- People were placed at the centre of the service and were given exceptional person-centred support which was both flexible and responsive to people's individual needs
- People and their key workers kept goals under constant review and monitored, recorded and celebrated progress. For example, one person's main aim was to walk independently, and specially developed exercise routines had been formulated by external professionals to aid this
- The registered manager encouraged staff to be aware of people's risks but allow people to make their own decisions. Positive risk taking was promoted to make sure people could maintain and develop as much independence as possible as well as learn
- The service worked collaboratively with local NHS or social care professionals to ensure people received person centred care.