Gateway House

Updated 21 June 2022

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.

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

One inspector and a member of the CQC medicines team carried out the inspection.

Service and service type

Gateway 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 CQC. 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

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We communicated with two people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. People who used the service who were unable to talk with us used different ways of communicating including using Makaton, pictures, photos, symbols, objects and their body language.

We spoke with four members of staff including the carers, seniors and the registered manager.

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI) to spend time observing people. 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 one person’s care records and two medication records. We looked at one staff file in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 21 June 2022

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

Gateway House is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to up to 6 people. The service provides support to people with a learning disability and autistic people. At the time of our inspection there were 2 people using the service. The property consisted of 6 individual flats with separate facilities and some shared communal areas.

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

Right Support

The model of care and setting maximised people's choice, control and independence. People were involved in planning their care and future goals. Staff supported people with independent living skills and people could choose their own activities. People’s environment was decorated to meet their sensory needs, which they were involved in decorating to their individual likes. People were doing regular activities they enjoyed and were supported to maintain relationships.

Right Care

Care was person-centred and promoted people's dignity, privacy and human rights. Staff supported people to make healthy food choices and supported people to maintain a cultural diet. Staff communicated with people in a respectful and caring way in line with their communication needs. Care plans and risk assessments were person-centred and staff were trained and knowledgeable in meeting people’s individual needs.

Right culture

The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the leaders and care staff ensured people using the service led confident, inclusive and empowered lives. There was an open and transparent culture and there was a homely atmosphere. Staff and relatives told us they were supported by the registered manager. Staff supported people to achieve their individual aspirations. Quality assurance and audit systems were in place to maintain and continuously improve quality and safety of the service but needed strengthening to ensure they were identifying all shortfalls.

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

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection to assess whether the service was applying the principles of Right support, right care, right culture. This service was registered with us on 26 March 2021 and this was the first inspection.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to infection control, medicines and governance at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.