We carried out a review of the data available to us about Priory Egerton Road on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Priory Egerton Road, you can give feedback on this service.
Priory Egerton Road is registered to provide accommodation for up to 11 adults living with an acquired brain injury and provides a rehabilitation service to those living there. Priory Egerton Road promotes independent living and aim to rehabilitate people into the community.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People received safe care and support by staff trained to recognise signs of abuse or risk and understood what to do to safely support people. People had care plans and risk assessments which meant people’s safety and well-being was promoted and protected. 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.
Medicines were given safely to people by appropriately trained staff, who had been assessed as competent. The home was clean, well-maintained, and comfortable. There were enough staff to meet people's needs. Safe recruitment practices had been followed before staff started working at the service. Accidents and incidents were recorded, and lessons learnt from complaints and incidents were discussed at team meetings.
A range of quality audits were conducted regularly to ensure service quality was maintained and improvements made where needed. The home had an effective management structure which provided good leadership for staff and communicated effectively with people, relatives, and professionals. Families, visitors, and staff were positive about the management and care team, saying they were approachable and welcoming. Staff were positive about their roles and felt valued for the work they did.
The views of people who lived at the home, their relatives and staff were encouraged and acted upon by the management team. People and their relatives felt able to raise any concerns they had and were confident these would receive an appropriate response. People also had several forums where they could express their views, such as one to one meeting with their key worker, resident meetings, surveys and at their local Headway support group.
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 23 June 2018)
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service and the age of the last 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.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Priory Egerton Road 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.
Priory Egerton Road is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided; both were looked at during this inspection. Priory Egerton Road is registered to provide accommodation for up to 11 adults living with an acquired brain injury and provides a rehabilitation service to those living there. Nine people were living there at the time of inspection.
At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and on-going 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.
People told us that they liked the staff that supported them, they felt listened to and felt safe and settled where they lived. Staff had an excellent understanding of people’s individual needs: they provided person centred care that placed people at the heart of the service provided. People worked with staff to develop personalised plans of the care and support they needed. Staff were kind and caring and people told us staff respected their dignity and privacy.
New staff received an appropriate induction into their role that included shadowing experienced staff and completion training. All staff undertook a programme of regular mandatory and specialist training. Staff were enabled to take further qualifications as part of their development. Staff felt supported they had opportunities to discuss their training and development needs through regular supervision and annual appraisal.
There were enough staff to safely support people to learn independent living skills and to help them to lead the life they wished. There was a positive approach to risk taking to enable people to develop their independence. Risks people might experience were assessed and measures implemented to reduce the likelihood of harm occurring to them. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.
Medicines were managed well so that people receive them safely. Staff understood the systems in place for managing safeguarding matters and behaviours that can be challenging to others. Peoples health needs were supported and monitored to ensure they remain well and access health professionals as and when they need to. People were supported to eat healthily and were consulted about what they eat. Advice was sought when needed from health professionals regarding people’s diet and weight.
The premises were well maintained. People and staff worked together to ensure the service was clean and tidy. Regular tests and checks of fire safety equipment and annual servicing of gas and electrical installations were made. Safe systems are in place for the management of people’s medicines and administering staff were trained to do so.
People were encouraged to speak up and they had several forums where they could express their views; such as one to one meetings with their key worker, resident meetings, surveys and at their local Headway support group. People felt able to raise concerns if they had them and found staff approachable. People and relatives knew what to do if they were unhappy and were confident of taking action around this.
People were supported to develop a full and active lifestyle that included opportunities for skills development but also encouragement to pursue interests and hobbies and make use of community activities that enabled them to socialise and integrate into the community they lived in. Staff enabled and encouraged people to experience holidays and supported them with destinations of their choice, or attendance at special family events to ensure they remained very much part of the family group.
There was a clear management structure. Staff felt valued and listened to. The registered manager was a visible presence and knew people well. A range of quality audits were conducted regularly to ensure service quality was maintained and improvements made where needed.
Further information is in the detailed findings below
Priory Egerton Road is registered to provide accommodation for up to 11 adults living with an acquired brain injury and provides a rehabilitation service to those living there. The service caters for people with low physical dependency and who need minimal support and supervision to live safely in the community. Priory Egerton Road is located in a residential area within walking distance of Bexhill town centre.
Priory Egerton Road is owned by the Priory Rehabilitation Services Limited.
At the time of this inspection 11 people were living at the service.
This inspection took place on the 3 and 7 December 2015 and was unannounced.
The service had a registered manager in place. 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 told us they felt they were safe and well cared and had their choices respected. Comments included, “Very safe” and “In a good place, because I feel safe and happy.” Staff treated people with kindness and compassion and supported them to maintain their independence. They showed respect and maintained people’s dignity. People had access to health care professionals when needed. Feedback received from people their relatives and visiting health professionals through the inspection process was positive about the care, the approach of the staff and atmosphere in the home. One health professional said, “Very knowledgeable and supportive staff.”
Staff enjoyed working in the service and were provided with a training programme which supported them to meet the needs of people. Staff felt well supported and able to raise any issue with the registered manager. People were complementary about the food and the choices available. They also told us “I cook and everyone likes it.”
People were given information on how to make a complaint and said they were comfortable to raise a concern or complaint if need be.
There was an open culture at the home and this was promoted by the staff and management arrangements. People were encouraged to share their views though ‘residents meetings’ and satisfaction surveys.
Robust systems were in place to analyse, monitor or review the quality of the service provided. Formal feedback was obtained from people and their relatives. The provider was not completing formal audits and there were no mechanisms to assess the standards of care. Staffing levels were sufficient, and additional staff were used when required to accompany staff to appointments or social events. In addition to support staff there was an occupational therapist, psychologist, and assistant psychologist that worked as part of the team.
Safe recruitment procedures were followed and appropriate pre-employment checks had been made including evidence of identity and satisfactory written references. Appropriate checks were also undertaken to ensure new staff were safe to work within the care sector.
People received care and support from dedicated staff who were appropriately trained, confident and highly motivated to meet their individual needs. They were able to access health, social and medical care, as required.
With compassion and pride, the management team and staff spoke about people, their likes, dislikes, personality and life history. It was clear staff had spent time getting to know people and delivering care in line with people’s needs. People looked at ease in the company of staff. Staff spent time chatting with people and laughter was heard throughout the inspection.
People’s needs were assessed and their care plans provided staff with clear guidance about how they wanted their individual needs met. Care plans were extremely person centred and contained appropriate risk assessments. They were regularly reviewed and amended as necessary to ensure they reflected people’s changing support needs.
There were systems in place to protect people from abuse and harm. Staff had a clear knowledge of how to protect people and understood their responsibilities for reporting any incidents, accidents or issues of concern.
People’s nutritional needs were assessed and records were accurately maintained to ensure people were protected from risks associated with eating and drinking. Where risks to people had been identified, these had been appropriately monitored and referrals made to relevant professionals, where necessary.
Medicines were managed safely in accordance with current regulations and guidance by staff who had received appropriate training to help ensure safe practice. There were systems in place to ensure that medicines had been stored, administered, audited and reviewed appropriately.
There was an open and honest culture within the home. Staff had a clear understanding of the vision and philosophy of the home. Staff spoke passionately about how Priory Egerton Road was run as a family home with family values embedded into practice.
We found by observation and looking at care plans that before people received any care or treatment they were asked for their consent and the provider acted in accordance with their wishes.
We examined three care plans and observed how staff supported people living in the home. We found that people's care was planned and delivered in a way that protected them from unlawful discrimination.
We examined the home's policy, practice and records in relation to medication. We found that staff were properly trained, medication was stored appropriately and administered correctly. We saw that record keeping in relation to medication was accurate and up to date.
We examined four staff files and found that the provider used effective recruitment and selection processes to ensure the care and safety of people living at the home. All staff were subject to appropriate checks before they began working at the home.
We looked at the complaints procedure and found that the service responded appropriately in line with their complaint policy and procedures.
We found that people were involved in decisions about their life. People were involved in the decisions about the home. Care plans and risk assessments were in place and reflected people's needs and aspirations. The home was clean and comfortable and the food provided was varied and nutritious.
We saw that quality assurance systems were in place and were audited regularly to ensure that the service was run in the best interests of the people who used the service.