Swerford House

Updated 24 July 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. 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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Swerford House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as 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 had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. The provider was given notice to give

the staff the opportunity to prepare people for our visit, so that it lessened the disruption our presence may

have caused.

What we did before 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. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people about their experience of the care provided. We observed staff interactions with people and observed care and support in communal areas. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, positive behaviour support lead, senior care worker and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We spoke with three relatives of people living at Swerford House.

Updated 24 July 2019

About the service

Swerford House is a care home providing accommodation and personal care to seven people with a range of learning disabilities at the time of the inspection. Some people were living with autism and everyone required support with behaviours that challenged. The service can support up to seven people.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

The registered manager and staff were exceptionally responsive and worked continuously to make improvements to the service and provide people with high quality care. Since our last inspection staff had worked with people to enhance their communication in innovative ways which enabled them to support people to reduce any behaviours which could have challenged. As a result, people were communicating for the first time, and learning new skills, such as counting.

People were living fulfilled lives and had been able to achieve things for the first time including life skills, taking part in activities and going on holiday for the first time. Relatives told us of the significant improvements in people’s quality of life as a result of the support provided by the staff at Swerford house.

People had been supported to reduce the incidents of behaviour that could challenge, and as a result reduce the physical interventions staff used when supporting them. Some people had previously displayed very high levels of behaviour which could challenge, which had reduced significantly, and on some months, people did not display any of these behaviours.

People’s care centred around their needs and preferences. Staff treated each person with compassion and kindness, and continuously used feedback either verbally or based on how people presented to improve the service.

A relative told us they were involved in their loved one’s support, and feedback was positive in relation to the difference and the positive impact staff and the managers had on people’s lives.

People were safe living at Swerford house; accidents and incidents were minimal, and staff worked to reduce the likelihood of issues re-occurring. People had been supported to reduce the amount of medicine they took, which improved their quality of life, and allowed them to be more active.

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.

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

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

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 15 December 2016).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.