The Red House

Updated 18 February 2022

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of COVID-19, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice is safe and that services are compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 03 February 2022 and was announced. We gave the service 24 hours notice of the inspection.

Updated 18 February 2022

The Red House is a privately owned and managed establishment accommodating a maximum of 26 older people and people living with dementia or physical disabilities. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. At the time of our visit 22 people lived at the home.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager was at the home during the time of our inspection.

This inspection was carried out on 15 January 2019 and was unannounced.

At our last inspection in 2016 we rated the service good in all five domains. At this inspection we found significant improvements had been implemented which has increased the overall rating to outstanding.

Why the service is rated Outstanding.

People were at the heart of everything the service did. Staff had an excellent understanding of people's needs and provided person-centred care to a very high standard. The provider and registered manager demonstrated a passion to provide people with love and a life of value, regardless of their age or disability. This was reflected in the many positive comments we received about the home and its staff from the people who lived there, their relatives, and the visiting health care professionals. Everyone we spoke with told us the service gave an outstanding level of care and support to people.

The registered manager, and the provider, had a clear vision and set of values for this service. These were based on dignity and respect, and working together with a commitment to providing quality care and support. They were also focussed on getting to know the people they supported. This compassionate and clear message was clearly shared by the staff team. This had a positive impact across all five of the key questions we asked and the lives of the people who used this service.

The service strived to be known as outstanding and innovative in providing person-centred care based on best practice. The registered manager had established a culture that put people at the centre of the service. This resulted in people taking back control of their lives, either from being unwell for long periods of their life, or overcoming obstacles due to their disabilities or age. Staff were confident and knowledgeable in their ability to support and care for people. Their passion for supporting people to live a fulfilled life was evident throughout the inspection. The programme of activities and events hosted by the staff were fully based around people’s interests and enabled them to achieve lifelong goals.

This passion for innovation and leading on best practice also extended to supporting people who were at the end of their life. The staff at the home had worked closely with local hospices to develop new guidelines for ensuring people were supported in a kind and compassionate way as they neared the end of their lives. Relatives who had family members pass away at the home were thankful for the way their loved ones and themselves had been supported by staff at this most difficult time.

The staff were exceptionally kind and caring and treated people with dignity and respect. Good interactions were seen throughout the day of our inspection, such as staff asking people's advice about how to proceed with tasks, or having a laugh and a joke with them. People were relaxed and happy with the staff and it was clear that caring relationships had developed between them. People's relationships with family and friends and dramatically improved due to the support and guidance given by the staff.

People told us they enjoyed the food. People where unanimously positive about the quality and choice of the food and drinks at the Red House. They received a balanced diet and they were encouraged to keep hydrated using innovation and staff involvement in developing best practice guidelines with health care professionals.

People's safety was paramount at The Red House, as was their involvement in keeping themselves and others safe. Through an understanding of people and their support needs, staff worked with them to manage risks and enable them to live their lives in the way they wanted. Risks of harm to people had been identified and guidelines were in place to minimise these risks, without restricting people's freedom.

There were sufficient staff deployed to meet the needs of the people who lived at the home. The provider had carried out appropriate recruitment checks to ensure staff were suitable to support people in the home. Staff received an induction when they started work at the home and ongoing training. This was tailored to the needs of the people they supported, and gave the nursing staff the training and clinical supervision to keep their registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council up to date.

There was a very low turnover of staff, which enabled people to get to know them, and build positive relationships. It was also a testament to the care and support the provider and registered manager gave to the staff at the home.

Staff managed medicines in a safe way and were trained in the safe administration of medicines. The home was clean and staff practiced good infection control measures, such as hand washing, hygienic cleaning of the environment and equipment and correct use of personal protective equipment.

In the event of an emergency people would be protected because there were clear procedures in place to evacuate the building. Accidents and incidents were reviewed to minimise the risk of them happening again.

Before people moved into the home, their needs were assessed to ensure staff could provide the care and support they needed.

People were supported to maintain good health as they had access to relevant healthcare professionals when they needed them. People’s health was seen to improve because of the effective care and support given by staff. Staff worked with local health authorities on initiatives to continue to improve the care people received.

Where people did not have the capacity to understand or consent to a decision the provider had followed the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005). An appropriate assessment of people’s ability to make decisions for themselves had been completed. Where people’s liberty may be restricted to keep them safe, the provider had followed the requirements of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) to ensure the person’s rights were protected.

The registered manager had a clear vision and set of values based on providing personalised care to people. Staff understood this and demonstrated these values during the inspection in their interactions with people. Quality assurance processes were used to make improvements to the home and the experience of people who live here.

People had the opportunity to be involved in how the home was managed. Regular house meetings took place to give people a chance to have their say. Surveys were completed and the feedback was reviewed, and used to improve the home and the people's experience of living there.

People had a very positive experience living at The Red House. They were supported by staff that really enjoyed their job and really involved them in their care and support. The registered manager gave an outstanding level of leadership to make people's lives happy and fulfilled.