48 Heath Road

Updated 4 January 2024

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.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of 1 inspector.

Service and service type

48 Heath Road 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. 48 Heath Road 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

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

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 sought feedback from partner agencies and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We reviewed information we held on the service. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 2 people that used the service. Not everyone using the service was able to speak with us, so we made informal observations and communicated with them in their preferred way. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We spoke with 5 relatives of people who use the service. We spoke with 6 members of staff, including the registered manager, operations manager, deputy manager, senior support workers and support workers. We reviewed a range of records, including 3 people’s care plans and relevant risk assessments, medicine administration records and some records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 4 January 2024

About the service

48 Heath Road is a residential care home providing accommodation to people who require personal care to up to 8 people. The service provides support to people with a learning disability and autistic people. At the time of our inspection there were 8 people using the service. People are accommodated over 2 floors, with their own individual bedrooms and individual quiet lounges as well as communal lounges and dining areas. The service is located in a village with good community access, close to local shops and transport links.

People’s experience of the 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 assessment and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Support

People were supported to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence be independent and they had control over their own lives. 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 supported people with their medicines in a safe way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcome.

Right Care

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. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.

Right Culture

People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff. Risks of a closed culture were minimised so that people received support based on transparency, respect and inclusivity.

Staff knew and understood people well, supporting their aspirations to live a quality life of their choosing.

Staff evaluated the quality of support provided to people, involving the person, their families and other professionals as appropriate.

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 29 November 2019).

Why we inspected

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

Follow Up

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