Brighton & Hove City Council - 83 Beaconsfield Villas

Updated 13 July 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

This inspection was undertaken by an inspector and an assistant inspector.

Service and service type

83 Beaconsfield Villas 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. 83 Beaconsfield Villas 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

We gave a short period notice of the inspection because some people living at the service could find unfamiliar people in their home uncomfortable. Giving 24 hours’ notice meant the registered manager could explain to people that an inspector would be visiting and why.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

People living at the service were not able to share their views with us. However, we spent time observing the interactions between people and staff. We spoke with 4 relatives via telephone. We spoke with 6 members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager and care staff. We reviewed 3 people's care records and multiple medicine records. We looked at 2 staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures and audits were reviewed. We sought feedback from health and social care professionals who have contact with the service.

Updated 13 July 2023

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.

About the service

Brighton & Hove City Council - 83 Beaconsfield Villas is a residential care home for up to 6 people with a learning disability and/or autism. At the time of the inspection, 6 people were living at the service and receiving support with personal care.

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

Right Support

Governance systems at the service were more robust but still required improvement to ensure shortfalls in the service were identified and actions were taken to address these. Risk assessments were not always fully updated when required. Improvement had been made to specific risks within the home, for example, fire safety.

Staffing levels had improved. Staff were recruited in line with legislation and the provider’s policy. Staff delivered care and support in a safe and clean environment. People's medicines were managed in line with best practice guidance.

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. People were supported by staff to pursue their interests and to have a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life.

Right Care

People were now supported in a person-centred way as per their needs and wishes. People received kind and compassionate care from staff who knew them well. People's independence was promoted. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. Staff training had been a priority and there were enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people's needs.

People could communicate with staff freely because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs. People's care, treatment and support plans were being updated and reflected their range of needs. People received care focused on their quality of life.

Right Culture

There was a calm and friendly atmosphere at the service. The new management team had created an open and transparent culture where relatives and staff felt comfortable and confident to share concerns and ideas for improvements. Staff placed people's wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. People and those important to them were involved in planning their care.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was inadequate (published 20 February 2023) and there were breaches of 6 regulations. This service has been in Special Measures since 12 January 2023. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced focused inspection of this service on 27 and 28 October 2022 and breaches of legal requirements were found. CQC took enforcement action and warning notices were issued to the provider. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve person-centred care; safe care and treatment; safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment; premises and equipment; good governance and staffing.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. We also 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.

This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements. 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 changed from inadequate to requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Brighton & Hove City Council – 83 Beaconsfield Villas 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.