The Chestnuts

Updated 30 April 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, 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 completed by one inspector.

Service and service type:

The Chestnuts is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. The care Quality Commission (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:

The inspection took place on 21 March 2019 and was unannounced.

What we did:

Before our visit we reviewed the information that we had about the service including statutory notifications. Notifications are information about specific important events the service is legally required to send to us.

We also we reviewed other information, including the Provider Information Return (PIR). The PIR is a document we ask the provider to complete to give us information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We spoke with five people who lived at the home and three members of staff. We looked at the care records of two people and medicines information and records for four people. We observed care and support for people.

We also received feedback from two professionals involved with the service.

We looked at records that related to staff and how the home was managed. These included staff training, recruitment and supervision information. They also included many quality audits and checking systems.

Updated 30 April 2019

About the service: The Chestnuts is a care home for seven people with a learning disability. The home is divided into three separate units called Lower Woodlands, Upper Woodlands and Meadow View, which are managed as one service.

People’s experience of using this service:

¿ Staff had real care and empathy and knew people well. Staff were extremely caring, kind and compassionate. They also conveyed they really valued working with people at the home.

¿ The team worked hard to focus on providing an atmosphere like a family home. Staff were calm and unobtrusive, allowing the person to be the focus of attention and promoting equality for all.

¿Staff were knowledgeable and confident in ensuring better outcomes for people. The staff had a clear understanding of their role and how to best support people.

¿People really benefited because the registered manager led with a clear vision to enable people to live fulfilled lives as independently as possible.

¿There was a transparent culture where staff felt able to discuss issues or incidents in an open way. This in turn promoted improvement. Positive teamwork and communication was embedded in the team.

¿People were at the heart of the service and there were many celebrated positive outcomes for people.

¿Care records reflected people's needs thoroughly and in a person-centred way. For example, each person had their own unique pictures used alongside their care plan. This was to help them understand what was written.

¿ People were supported to take positive risks and be as independent as possible. People were enabled through encouragement to be independent and undertake as much as possible for themselves.

¿ Risk assessments were detailed and ensured people experienced minimal restriction. There were many ways people were supported out of their usual routines and encouraged to try new experiences.

¿People benefited because a range of initiatives were used to assist people to communicate their preferences, choices and make decisions.

¿Staff went to great lengths to support people who lacked capacity to express their wishes, and staff were unhurried and patient. The communication plan stated reasons why a person might want to communicate and how certain behaviours may indicate a specific way of expressing a need.

Rating at last inspection: The service was rated Good

Why we inspected: This was a scheduled inspection based on previous rating

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