White Pearl House

White Pearl House is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to up to 5 people. The service provides support to younger adults with learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders and mental health. At the time of our inspection there were 3 people using the service.

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.

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

Right Support

Risks to people’s safety were not always identified or managed. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests. However, the policies and systems in the service did not support this practice as capacity assessments and consent to care forms were not always in place. Reviews were taking place to ensure the design of the service was meeting people’s needs. There were enough skilled and experienced staff to safely care for people and recruitment processes were safe. We were assured IPC practices were safe. Staff supported people to maintain relationships, follow their interests and take part in activities.

Right Care

Medicines were not always being stored and managed safely. People’s needs were assessed prior to them starting to use this service. However, work was needed to ensure support plans were accurate and up to date. We made a recommendation about this. People were treated well and their privacy, dignity and independence was respected.

Right Culture

Governance systems were not effective at improving the quality and safety of the service. Audits did not always identify concerns found during the inspection and there was no evidence of provider oversight. There was limited evidence of lessons learnt following on from an incident, we made a recommendation about this. There was a complaints procedure in place and relative feedback was sought. Staff attended regular meetings and supervisions and they felt comfortable raising concerns. People’s communication needs were considered.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 17 January 2023). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found the provider remained in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the care and treatment people were receiving at this service and to follow up on actions we told the provider to take at the last inspection. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to the health and safety of people living at this service, medicines management, consent and good governance at this inspection. We made recommendations in relation to lessons learnt processes and support plans.

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

Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.

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 continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

White Pearl House is a residential care home providing accommodation for persons who require personal care to up to 5 people. It is a single, detached building spread over two floors. The service provides support to younger adults with learning disabilities, autistic spectrum disorders or mental health. At the time of our inspection there was 1 person using the service.

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.

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

Right Support

Staff spoke positively about promoting and encouraging independence for people that used the service. They had received training that was in line with the needs of the people they supported. Staff supported people who used the service to achieve positive outcomes and attend meaningful activities in their local community. Staffing levels were robust and staff members spoke positively about teamwork and staff morale. However, recruitment checks had not always been carried out correctly and were not always completed before staff members joined the service.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Right Care

Staff worked closely with external agencies to ensure the health needs of people who used the service were met. Risk assessments were in place and staff spoke about how they followed these when supporting people who used the service. However, risk assessments relating to individual health needs for people using the service were not always in place. Medicines were administered correctly however robust medicines checks were not always in place. Infection control practices did not always follow guidance at the time of the inspection, we made a recommendation about this. Staff told us how they promoted the values of privacy, dignity and equality when supporting people. Care records were detailed and were reviewed regularly. Staff demonstrated knowledge in how to support people who used the service in line with their wants, needs and preferences.

Right culture

Staff members spoke positively about a culture of learning and development. They told us that the management team at the home were encouraging and supportive. Staff spoke about inclusivity and examples of this were evidenced in meetings and supervisions. Relatives of people who used the service spoke highly of both management and the support staff and felt included in the care planning process for people who used the service. However, systems for monitoring and managing quality were not always in place.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 17 June 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to the monitoring of medicines, risk, recruitment checks and quality checks at this inspection. The provider has taken steps to mitigate the risks. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

We have made a recommendation about managing infection control.

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 continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.