Martha House

Updated 8 June 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

This was a targeted inspection on a concern we had about the culture at the service.

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

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors and a specialist advisor in nursing.

Service and service type

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

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 1 person who lived at the home and 7 relatives about their experience of the care provided. In addition, we sought the views of 2 health and social care professionals who regularly work with the home. We spent time seeing how staff cared for people. We spoke with 12 staff. This included the nominated individual, a provider’s representative, the registered manager, the quality and health & safety officer, a practice development lead, 2 senior/nursing staff and 5 care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. These included 5 people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management and safety of the service, including policies and procedures and audits were reviewed. We also checked how staff were supported in their roles.

Updated 8 June 2023

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

Martha House is a residential care home providing personal care to 14 people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 14 people.

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

Right Culture: We received a potential concern in relation to staff culture. The provider, registered manager and senior staff had taken immediate steps to address this. We found there was a positive and person-centred culture, which focused on meetings people’s needs. Relatives were positive about the service and staff team, and their views were echoed by health and social care professionals who regularly worked with staff at Martha House. People were supported by trained staff who understood best practice in relation to the wide range of strengths, impairments or sensitivities people with a learning disability and/or autistic people may have. This meant people received compassionate and empowering care that was tailored to their needs. Staff knew and understood people well and were responsive, supporting their aspirations to live a quality life of their choosing. There were effective systems for monitoring and improving the quality of the service and learning from incidents.

Right Support: 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. People’s freedom was not unnecessarily restricted, and people were not physically restrained. People lived in a safe, clean, well equipped, well-furnished and well-maintained environment. People had a choice about their living environment and were able to personalise their rooms. Staff focused on people’s choices and preferences, so they had fulfilling and meaningful everyday lives. People were supported by staff to pursue their interests. Staff worked proactively with people, relatives and health and social care professionals to maintain people’s health and wellbeing. Staff supported people to take their medicines safely and as prescribed. The registered manager was working with staff and other organisations to review how people’s medicines were managed.

Right Care: People were supported by staff who knew them well and were kind and attentive to them. There was an approach to supporting, people so their individual preferences and lifestyles were respected. Staff understood how to protect people from abuse and told us they were encouraged to speak up if needed to protect people. People’s needs were identified, their care was planned, and their needs were met. People took part in a range of meaningful activities and had good relationships with staff and their families.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good, (published 17 August 2021).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to a concern received about the culture of the home. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine this.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were affected by this concern. Please see the Well-led section of this full report.

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.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Martha House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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