Walcott House

Updated 6 March 2020

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was completed by one inspector.

Service and service type

Walcott House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small, people were often out, and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service, including the last inspection report and notifications from the home. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people living at the service. Where some people’s needs impacted their ability to communicate or provide feedback on the care they received, we observed interactions and engagement between people and staff. We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, the provider’s regional lead and care staff. We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s full care plan and a range of other people’s care records, and multiple medication records. We looked at staff records in relation recruitment and supervision and reviewed staff training records. We reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We reviewed policies and procedures around managing medicines and infection control. We spoke with two staff and four relatives about their experiences of the care provided. We received feedback from a healthcare professional.

Updated 6 March 2020

About the service

Walcott House is a small residential care home which specialises in providing personal care and support to up to 9 people with learning disabilities and or autism. At the time of the inspection nine people were living at the home.

The home is a large adapted domestic style property that provides nine individual bedrooms with en-suite facilities and a range of communal areas people can access. Communal areas included a kitchen, lounge, dining area and sensory room. The service was designed and registered before the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other current best practice guidance were established. This guidance ensures that people who use services can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence.

Although the service was registered for the support of up to nine people which is larger than current best practice guidance, people received personalised, planned and co-ordinated care to meet their needs. The home is situated in a residential area and there were deliberately no identifying signs, industrial bins or anything else outside to indicate it was a care home. Staff were also discouraged from wearing anything that suggested they were care staff when coming and going with people.

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

Relatives told us they felt their loved one’s received safe care from staff that knew them and their needs well. Staff consistently told us they felt supported in their role and had access to a range of training suitable to their role. People’s diet and nutrition needs were met, and people’s food choices were accommodated. People’s needs were met through appropriate levels of staffing and effective deployment of staff where people required additional support. There was a clear safeguarding process in place to ensure people were safe.

People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported them where appropriate in their best interests. We noted some aspects of the environment placed restrictions on people accessing rooms or cupboards, to maintain their safety. The provider had completed a recent consultation process and had an action plan to review and ensure least restrictive practices were implemented throughout the environment. This is in-line with the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. The purpose of these principles ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence. Most outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

People’s care plans were person centred and provided staff with detailed information on who they are and how they would like their needs met. People were supported to manage their health and well-being, which included input where appropriate from relevant health and social care professionals. People were provided with a range of opportunities to engage in activities both inside the home and local community, which were tailored to meet people’s individual needs and interests.

The systems in place to monitor and review the delivery of care were not always effective and required improvement. This included infection control practices and oversight of people’s prescribed topical creams. The provider took immediate action to address our findings and reviewed the service governance to ensure procedures were more robust. We received positive feedback from relatives and a healthcare professional, who praised the leadership of the registered manager and relationship’s built with people using the service.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and most other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence. The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 16 May 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.