Strawberry Field

Updated 12 March 2022

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of COVID-19, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice is safe and that services are compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 16 February 2022 and was unannounced.

Updated 12 March 2022

About the service

Strawberry Field is a residential care home providing personal care to four people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to four people with learning disabilities and/or autism.

The service was a house with one self-contained flat upstairs. There was a sleep-in room for staff which was also the office.

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

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.

People felt safe and staff understood their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding. Risks relating to people’s individual needs and within the environment had been identified and plans were in place to mitigate known risks. There were consistently enough staff to meet people’s needs and there were safe recruitment practices in place.

People’s medicines were managed and administered in a safe way. The service was clean, and staff took steps to minimise the risk of infection. There were processes in place to learn from accidents and incidents.

Assessments of people’s needs took place prior to them moving to the service. Staff received training relevant to their role and attended regular supervisions.

People were supported to maintain a healthy nutritional intake and risks relating to this were managed. Staff worked with other healthcare professionals to ensure people received consistent care. People were able to contribute to the decoration and design of the service.

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.

Staff treated people in a caring way which respected their privacy and dignity. People felt listened to and were supported when they were upset. People were involved in the planning of their care and were supported to be as independent as possible.

People’s care was planned and delivered in a person-centred way. Staff understood people’s individual communication needs and spoke with people according to their individual needs. People felt able to raise a concern or make suggestions. People’s end of life wishes had been discussed with people and documented.

There was a clear vision of the service which staff embedded into their practice. There were processes in place to involve people, their relatives and staff in providing feedback about how the service was run. Quality monitoring audits had been improved since the last inspection. These were undertaken by the registered manager and a senior member of staff to assess and monitor the quality of service being delivered.

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 12 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.