Camellots Care Home

Updated 9 March 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

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector

Service and service type

Camellots 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. Camellots 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 a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

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. 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 communicated verbally and non-verbally with 3 people. We spoke with 7 members of staff including the

registered manager, 2 deputy managers, the provider and 3 support workers. We sought feedback from 2 relatives and 4 visiting health professionals about their experience of the care provided

Updated 9 March 2023

About the service

Camellots Care Home is a residential care home providing regulated activities of accommodation and personal care for up to 9 people living with a learning disability and autistic people. The standard registration for Camellots care home is for 8 people to be accommodated, however the registered provider currently has a condition on their registration allowing them, for the purposes of COVID 19 response, to accommodate a maximum of 9 people. This is a maximum of 7 people in the main house and a maximum of 2 people in the annexe at Camellots Care Home. At the time of our inspection, 7 people were living in the main building and 1 person in an annex in the garden. Accommodation is provided over two floors. Communal areas include a sitting room, conservatory/dining room and kitchen. All rooms are of single occupancy.

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

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.

Right Support:

People were mostly 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 did not always support people to have a range of opportunities and experiences to learn to be more independent and have greater control over some areas of their own lives. Some people had limited opportunities to build skills and participate in individual activities. Staff carried out daily tasks such as cooking and cleaning without always actively supporting people to take part. The registered manager was seeking additional training for staff to understand how to be more focused on people’s strengths and promote what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life. Each person had their own room, which was generally personalised to meet their needs and preferences.

Staff supported people with their medicines in a way they wanted, and achieved the best possible health outcome. Staff supported people to play an active role in maintaining their own health and wellbeing.

Right Care:

People and their relatives told us they received kind and compassionate care. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked with other agencies to do so. People’s care, treatment and support plans reflected their range of needs and this promoted their wellbeing. Staff and people cooperated to assess risks people might face. Staff encouraged people to take positive risks and make decisions.

People received good quality health care, support and treatment because trained staff and specialists could meet their needs. Most staff knew and understood people well. Staff demonstrated they understood people’s communication needs and the registered manager and staff knew where they needed to improve to develop greater clarity about people’s sensory needs.

Right Culture:

Leaders and the culture they created did not always support the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care. Internal quality assurance systems and processes to maintain and develop the safety and quality of care were not always operating effectively.

People and their relatives told us, they liked living at Camellots care home and liked the managers and staff.

The provider was aware of and were committed to providing resources to make any necessary improvements as quickly as possible. Staff equality and diversity was respected and promoted at the service and within the provider’s organisation.

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 25 October 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

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.

The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified a breach in relation to governance at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

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.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Camellots care home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.