25 October 2023
During an inspection looking at part of 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 assessment and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.
About the service
Damascus House is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to up to 12 people. The service provides support to people with a learning disability, autistic people and people with physical health needs. At the time of our inspection there were 12 people using the service.
People’s experience of the service and what we found
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. Knowledgeable staff who were committed to improving the lives of people with a learning disability and/or autism were recruited safely. There were enough staff to ensure people living at the service had their support needs continually met. Staff had received training to ensure they were skilled to effectively meet people's needs. People were supported to maintain their independence. People were supported to personalise their rooms and there were communal areas people could use when they chose. People, relatives, and staff told us the management and staff were approachable and listened when they had concerns.
Right Care:
There was a relaxed, warm and jovial atmosphere in the home. Where people required support with personal care this was provided with dignity and privacy. People were given choices about the way in which they were cared for. Staff listened to them and knew their needs well. People received their medicines safely. The service worked in partnership with other healthcare professionals to maintain positive outcomes.
Right Culture:
People were promoted to be as independent as possible and choose how they lived their lives. People’s privacy and dignity was respected. Staff had formed positive relationships with people they supported. People were provided with opportunity to make suggestions and feedback on their experience, which was considered to improve the service. People were protected from the risk of abuse. Risks were assessed and managed effectively. The service was managed effectively. Audits and reviews of care were undertaken to ensure the care and support people were provided with was current.
Overall the service is meeting 'right support, right care, right culture'. We are aware this is a large service supporting up to 12 people and therefore is larger than good practice guidance suggests.
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 10 August 2018)
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for ‘Damascus 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.