Ebbsfleet House

Updated 31 May 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type:

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

The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that the provider is legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. The registered manager left the service in December 2018 and the deputy manager was appointed as the manager. They had submitted their application to become the registered manager which was being progressed. The deputy manager had provided continuity of management and oversight.

Notice of inspection:

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit to give staff the opportunity to prepare people for our visit, so that it lessened the disruption our presence may have caused.

What we did:

Before the inspection, we reviewed information we had received about the service. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as abuse. We received feedback from healthcare professional working with the service. We assessed the information we require providers to send us to give key information about the service, what the service does well and the improvements they plan to make. We used this information to plan our inspection. We spoke with three people, and spent time observing staff with people in communal areas during the inspection. We spoke with the manager, quality improvement lead, and four staff. We reviewed a range of records. This included two people's care records and medicine records, training and supervision records and records relating to the quality monitoring and management of the service.

Updated 31 May 2019

About the service:

Ebbsfleet House is a residential care home that provides personal care for up to five people who may have autism or a learning disability. It is a specialist service for people that have anxious or emotional behaviour that has limited their quality of life and experiences. At the time of our inspection there were five people living there.

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

People’s experience of using this service:

The home applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensured people who live at the home can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice, inclusion and independence.

Since our last inspection people had been supported to achieve goals that were previously considered out of reach. For example, one person had been supported to go shopping, an activity which previously caused a lot of anxiety, and resulted in the person displaying behaviour that could challenge. People were very active, and part of the local community, involved in the local sports centre, and horse-riding stables.

Incidents of behaviour that could challenge had reduced since our last inspection, leading to a decrease in restrictions in place for people. Alongside this, incidents of physical restraint had reduced, and staff worked with external healthcare professionals to reduce the levels of restraint used, which has a positive impact on people. People had been supported to take positive risks, including re visiting activities which previously caused increased levels of anxiety. Staff worked with people, providing picture references to increase understanding of activities, and food choices, as well as to support understanding of healthcare appointments. People had been supported to safely reduce the medicines they were taking.

There was a positive culture within the service, with mutual respect between people and the staff supporting them. Staff were passionate about providing positive outcomes for people and has formed excellent relationships with people. People were supported to express their views and be involved in their care.

The service continued to meet the characterises of Good in all domains.

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection the service was rated Good. (28 September 2016)

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as

per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.