Individual Care Services - 60 Ward Grove

Updated 10 October 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.

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

This inspection was completed by 2 inspectors.

Service and service type

Individual Care Services – 60 Ward Grove 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. Individual Care Services – 60 Ward Grove is a care home without 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 no registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 2 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 24 August 2023 and ended on 4 September 2023. We visited the service on 24 August 2023.

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 and professionals who work with the service. This information helps support our inspections 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 this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 2 relatives and a person’s advocate about their experience of the care provided. We spent time with the 3 people who lived at the home observing the quality of care and support they received. This helped us to understand the experiences of people who we were unable to communicate with us. We spoke with 8 members of staff including the service manager, the Head of Care, 3 support workers, 2 temporary staff supplied via an agency and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We also spoke to 4 healthcare professionals about their experience of the care provided.

We reviewed a range of records. This included information contained in 2 people's care and medicine records. We also looked at 1 staff recruitment file and records related to the overall management and quality assurance of the service.

Updated 10 October 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

Individual Care Services – 60 Ward Grove is a residential care home based in a small cul-de-sac within a small community. It provides accommodation and personal care to a maximum of 3 people with a learning disability and/or autistic people. At the time of our inspection, 3 people lived at the home.

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

People did not always receive person centred care in line with Right Care, Right Support, Right Culture.

Right Support: People were not always involved in making decisions about their care. There was limited consideration given to the varying ways people could be empowered to make their own decisions and choices using different communication methods. People were not always supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and records did not always show decisions had been made in people’s best interests.

Right Care: Risks to people’s health and well-being had been identified and assessed, but not always managed safely. Healthcare professional advice was not always followed or implemented effectively. The provider used a high number of temporary staff supplied through an agency who had not always received the same level of training as the permanent staff which impacted on people’s care.

Right Culture: The provider did not always promote a person-centred culture which empowered people to make their own decisions. Systems were not always operated effectively to identify if people were receiving care and support in line with Right Care, Right Support, Right Culture. Feedback from a variety of sources indicated people did not always feel able to raise concerns because they were not confident their views would be responded to positively.

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 October 2018).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to the application of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led only.

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

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 changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

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 read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Individual Care Services – 60 Ward Grove on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to consent, safe care and treatment and good governance at this inspection.

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.