Ivydene

Updated 5 March 2021

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to the coronavirus pandemic we are looking at the preparedness of care homes in relation to infection prevention and control. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 12 February 2021 and was announced.

Updated 5 March 2021

This inspection took place on 4 and 6 October 2017 and was unannounced. The service provides accommodation and personal care for up to eight people with a learning disability. There were six people living at the service at time of inspection. Ivydene is based on two floors, connected by a passenger lift and stairs. There were bedrooms and bathrooms on both floors of the building. The ground floor had a kitchen, dining room and conservatory as communal spaces which people could use.

There was a registered manager at the service. 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.

At our last inspection in June 2016, we identified five breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 and one breach of the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009. We asked the provider to make improvements in the areas of; person centred care, dignity and respect, safeguarding people from abuse and harm, assessing people’s healthcare needs, governance and monitoring of the service and the reporting of significant incidents to CQC. At this inspection, we found that improvements had been made and the provider had taken steps to meet the requirements of these regulations.

The registered manager started working at the service after the last inspection. They had devised and implemented an improvement plan for the service to make the improvements identified as being required at our last inspection. The registered manager and provider continued to monitor the service through a series of audits, checks and improvement plans in order to monitor the quality and safety of the service. The registered manager had also used feedback from complaints and questionnaires to make further improvements to the service.

People were involved in the planning of their care, being given choices about their daily lives and activities. Staff worked with people, tailoring their communication strategies to the individual in order to make communication meaningful and effective. Staff treated people with dignity, respect and were kind and caring in their interactions.

People were protected from the risk of harm. Staff took appropriate action to keep people safe when incidents occurred and the registered manager reported significant events which occurred in the home to relevant safeguarding bodies and CQC.

People’s healthcare needs were identified in their care plans. Staff were pro-active in ensuring that people had access to healthcare services when required. When people were reluctant to access these services, staff worked with people, families and other professionals to try to facilitate these appointments. The registered manager understood the need to for people to consent to their care and treatment, but also that some decisions had to be made in people’s ‘best interests’ if they lacked the capacity to make an informed choice.

There were sufficient staff in place to meet people’s needs. The registered manager had facilitated a large turnaround in staff since last inspection. Staff were supported appropriately through training, induction and supervision. Staff were subject to recruitment checks which helped to ensure they were of appropriate experience and character to work with people.

People were supported with a diet in line with their preference and their dietary requirements. They had access to planned activities outside the service and were encouraged to participate in everyday living tasks to promote their independent living skills.