Thornage Hall Independent Living

Updated 4 September 2018

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This comprehensive inspection took place on 31 July 2018 and was announced. We gave the provider under 24 hours’ notice of our visit. The inspection team consisted of two inspectors and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of service.

Before we carried out this inspection we reviewed the information we held about this service including notifications. A notification is information about events that the registered persons are required, by law, to tell us about. We also made contact with the local authority quality assurance team to aid with our planning of this inspection.

We looked at the care records of two people in detail to check they were receiving their care as planned. We also looked at other records including three staff recruitment files, training records, meeting minutes, medicines records and quality assurance records.

We spoke with 11 people who were using the service. We had contact with 10 members of care staff, including the support workers, independent living manager, agency staff and the head of care We spoke with relatives of nine people currently living in the service. We also had contact with two healthcare professionals to seek their feedback.

Updated 4 September 2018

Camphill Communities East Anglia is a supported living service for up to 28 people who have a learning disability and or autism. The service is referred to as Thornage Hall by people, relatives, staff and the provider. We have also referred to the service as Thornage Hall in our report. Thornage Hall provides supported living across four houses located on the Thornage Hall estate and one house in Thornage village in Norfolk.

Thornage Hall is a member of the association of Camphill Communities who have a vision of an environmentally sustainable world where everyone can live, learn and work together in a meaningful way regardless of ability or disability. Thornage Hall estate has a biodynamic farm which provides food for people living there and for retail to the local area. A range of agricultural, crafting, computing and artistic ventures help people develop meaningful skills within a working environment.

At the time of this inspection there was not a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. In the absence of a registered manager the providers representative during our visit was the head of personal care services. The new manager (who was also the chief executive) was due to commence employment on 13 August 2018.

At our last inspection we rated the service ‘Good’. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating ‘Good’ and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

The care service had been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service lived as ordinary a life as any citizen.

There was mixed feedback about staffing primarily due to the challenges of recruitment and the high use of agency staff. Staff were committed to still delivering a quality service to people and were busy however feedback and our observation showed there were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs in a timely manner. We have recommended the provider continue to closely monitor staffing levels. Staff were recruited safely.

People continued to receive a service that was caring. Staff knew people's needs well and were responsive and supportive. Staff treated people with dignity and respect. Staff continued to seek and gain people's views. The service worked within the principles of the Mental Capacity Assessment 2005 (MCA) and staff sought people's consent before entering their home and supporting them.

Medicines continued to be stored and administered safely, and people received their medicines as prescribed. Audits were carried out of medicines to ensure they were managed in line with good practice guidelines. Infection control practice was good and helped to reduce the risks associated with poor cleanliness systems.

People and relatives were complimentary about the service and the support provided. There was information available if people or their relatives wanted to complain. People who used the service and the relatives told us the service was well led. Staff were aware of their roles and responsibilities and most felt well supported. Effective quality monitoring systems were in operation.

Further information is in the detailed findings below