Derwen College

Updated 25 January 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 carried out by 4 inspectors and 2 Experts by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Derwen College is registered as both a ‘care home’ and a supported living service. 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. Derwen College is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The supported living service provides care and support to people living in a ‘supported living’ setting, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

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 were 4 registered managers in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a large service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection we reviewed all the information we held on 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 contacted the local authority for their feedback and used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During the inspection we spoke with 10 people and 7 relatives. We spoke with 24 staff including, the registered managers, nurses, team leaders, support staff and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We looked at 7 care plans, 3 recruitment records and other records used to support the management of the service.

Updated 25 January 2023

About the service

Derwen College is a further education college for younger adults with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and/or autistic people. The college provides personal and nursing care to up to 150 people. At the time of our inspection 144 people were using the service. The accommodation at the college is registered as a care home and support is provided over multiple buildings. The college also operates a supported living service and a short break service which is accessed by people living in the community.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this 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 assessments 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 develop their independent living skills and use the college experience to develop any areas of interest. People’s needs were assessed prior to attending the college and care plans were developed with the input of people, their relatives and the funding authority. Risks to people’s safety were considered and people were supported to understand how they can keep themselves safe. 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.

Right Care: People's communication needs were assessed, and people were supported to use various communication tools to assist in their engagement with others. People were supported by a team of specialist learning disability health professionals who oversaw their physical and emotional wellbeing. People received their medicine as prescribed and were knowledgeable about what they took and why. People received care that was person centred and people’s privacy was respected. Staff had access to protective personal equipment (PPE) to limit the risk of infection. People were protected from the risk of harm by robust safeguarding processes being in place.

Right Culture: People and staff were positive about the culture at Derwen college. People felt able to speak up and confident their concerns would be listened to. The provider was responsive when concerns were raised and acted when things went wrong and lessons needed to be learnt. The management team worked together to oversee the care people received and carried out regular audits to ensure the service was safe and best practice was promoted throughout.

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 requires improvement (published 17 August 2019). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

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.