St Helens Down

St Helens Down is a residential care home providing personal care for younger adults. The service is registered to accommodate up to 6 people who may have a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder, a mental health illness, a physical disability or a sensory impairment. At the time of our inspection there were 3 people living at the service.

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.

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

Right Support:

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 enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community. Staff supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision-making. One professional said, “In my opinion, (persons) quality of life has been enhanced and prolonged by the care staff over the years have given her.” People had a choice about their living environment and were able to personalise their rooms. The service gave people care and support in a safe, clean, well equipped, well-furnished and well-maintained environment that met their sensory and physical needs.

Right Care:

People received kind and compassionate care. One person said, “They are kind and helpful they are ever so good.” Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. People’s care, treatment and support plans reflected their range of needs and this promoted their wellbeing and enjoyment of life. Staff and people cooperated to assess risks people might face. One relative said of their loved one, “I'm very happy with her there. The main thing is she is happy.”

Right Culture:

People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff. People received good quality care, support and treatment because trained staff and specialists could meet their needs and wishes. One professional said, “They provide incredible, person-centred care, a genuine family home environment.” Staff knew and understood people well and were responsive.

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 13 March 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained good.

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

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

At this inspection, we found the service remained good in all areas, with an overall rating of good.

St Helens Down registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as a ‘care home’ for younger adults in March 2014. People living here may have a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder, a mental health illness, a physical disability or a sensory impairment. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during the inspection.

St Helens Down accommodated six people in one building.

The care service has 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 can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

There was registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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.

People’s care and support was well planned, with comprehensive plans in place to guide staff. Care was personalised and individual to meet people’s differing needs. Risks were clearly identified and as least restrictive as possible. All the necessary actions were taken to reduce risks while maintaining people’s independence.

People were protected by a safe and effective recruitment process in place. Staff were trained, supervised and supported in their roles. Staff were motivated, enjoyed their jobs and felt valued. There were staff vacancies which were being covered by regular agency staff. Staff had a good understanding of what constituted abuse and what they needed to do to raise concerns.

Positive relationships had developed staff who knew how to meet people’s needs fully. Care staff were kind and respected people’s choices. People were supported to have their healthcare and wellbeing met. The service had a homely and calm atmosphere, with enough space for people to enjoy time on their own or with other people.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible’ the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People’s rights were protected because the service followed the appropriate legal processes. Medicines were safely managed and infection control procedures were in place. People were supported to choose what they wanted to eat and drink and were involved in menu planning.

People lived in a home which was kept in good order and had any adaptations, design and decoration of the premises carried out. All the necessary safety checks on the building, systems and equipment were undertaken.

The service regularly sought the views of people who used the service. People knew how to raise any concerns. There were robust quality assurance systems in place which enabled the provider to monitor and improve practice.

We undertook this focused inspection on 27 February 2017 to check that they had followed their plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. We found improvements had been made and the provider was now meeting all legal requirements.

This report only covers our findings in relation to those requirements. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for St Helens Down on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

St Helens Down provides accommodation and personal care for up to six people with learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were six older people living at the home. People had a range of needs and all required some assistance. This included, personal care, mobility, communication and going out.

There is a registered manager at the home. 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.

People were regularly asked for their feedback about the service and what they would like from it. People were listened to and improvements were made based on the feedback they gave. People’s care plans reflected their individual needs and choices and other records demonstrated the support people had received.

The registered manager had developed an open and positive culture which focussed on improving the experience for people and staff. There was an effective quality assurance system in place. Audits were analysed to identify where improvements could be made, and these were implemented. There was an on-going action plan for the service to ensure it continued to develop and improve.