NCYPE - College Residential Services Lingfield

Updated 12 February 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.

We received information of concern about infection control and prevention measures at this service. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 27 January 2021 and was unannounced.

Updated 12 February 2021

The National Centre for Young People with Epilepsy provides specialist education and residential provision for children and young people with neurological conditions, learning and physical disabilities. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Up to 110 young people can be accommodated across the provision for further education. There are 15 houses, with between six to 12 young people living in each house. At the time of the inspection 84 people were living in the houses.

At the last inspection on 21 July 2015 the service was rated ‘Good.’ At this inspection we found the service remained ‘Good.’ At a focus inspection on the 3 March 2017 we made a recommendation that the registered manager ensures that staff are aware of the times and needs of a person and when they require one to one support. During this inspection we found that the registered manager had actioned this recommendation. Staff were aware of which people required one to one support.

There was a registered manager in place. 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.

People told us they felt safe living at the service and that staff treated them well. Staff were aware of the procedures to follow if they had any suspicions or witnessed abuse. There was a safeguarding lead person who monitored safeguarding at the service and was available throughout the day to people, staff, relatives and visitors. Risks had been identified and assessed for each person to help keep them safe and to live their lives as independently as possible. There was sufficient staff deployed to attend to the needs of people. Medicines were managed in a safe way and the recording of medicines was completed to show people had received the medicines they required. A thorough recruitment process was in place to ensure only suitable staff were employed at the service.

Staff continued to receive training, regular supervision (one to one meeting) and annual appraisals that helped them to perform their duties. Staff understood the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) principles. Staff had followed the legal requirements of the MCA where restrictions were in place. Staff supported people to eat a variety of freshly prepared foods. People had access to all internal and external healthcare professionals and their involvement was sought by staff to help maintain people’s good health.

Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity and involved them in making decisions about their care. People were able to choose how they spent their time and could freely access all communal areas of the service. People’s relatives and visitors were welcomed and there were no restrictions of times to visit.

Documentation that enabled staff to support people and to record the care they had received was up to date and continued to be regularly reviewed. People and their relatives were involved in the reviewing of their care. People took part in a variety of activities that interested them. A complaints procedure was available to people, relatives and visitors. Complaints received had been resolved in accordance with provider’s complaints policy.

There was a positive culture within the homes, between the people that lived there and the staff. People told us that they could talk to staff and they would always listen to them.

The provider had an effective system in place to monitor the quality of care and treatment provided in each of the homes. Staff were asked for their views about how the service was run during staff and daily handover meetings. People and their relatives continued to be involved in the running of the service and their feedback was sought. Staff told us that they felt supported by the management of the service. Staff who worked across organisations communicated well with each other to deliver effective care, support and treatment.