The Orchards

Updated 3 June 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.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

The Orchards 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. The Orchards 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 the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. We also wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 2 people who were using the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 3 staff members including the Registered Manager, and 2 support workers. One support worker was the former manager of the home. They were working towards becoming the trainer for the providers services while still providing some input as support worker at the service. We contacted 4 relatives to seek their feedback on the care and support provided to their loved ones. We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people’s care records and medication records. We looked at 2 staff files in relation to recruitment. As well as a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including quality assurance and policies and procedures were reviewed. We contacted a number of professionals to seek their feedback about their experiences of working with the service.

Updated 3 June 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

The Orchards is a care home providing residential care for up to 4 adults with learning disabilities or other complex needs. The home is an all-male service. The home was formed of one adapted residential building. At the time of the inspection there were 4 people living at the home.

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

Right Support

Staff supported people to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence be independent and they had control over their own lives. Staff supported people to take part in activities and pursue their interests in their local area and to interact online with people who had shared interests. Staff supported people to achieve their aspirations and goals. One relative said of their loved one being at The Orchards, “It changed my life and changed my view. I've been able to relax. This placement feels much better. It meets (persons) needs.”

Right Care

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks. Staff knew the best way to communicate with people. Usually, communication was either verbal or through observing people’s reactions to suggestions or actions. We spent time observing interactions between people and staff and these were caring and supportive.

Right Culture

People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff. People were supported by staff who understood best practice in relation to the wide range of strengths, impairments or sensitivities people with a learning disability and/or autistic people may have. Staff evaluated the quality of support provided to people, involving the person, their families and other professionals as appropriate. The service enabled people and those important to them to worked with staff to develop the service. Staff valued and acted upon people’s views. One relative said, “There's nothing that they can improve on. I couldn’t ask for any more. As far as I'm concerned, they are tops.”

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 25 October 2017).

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 the same based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The Orchards 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.