Cambian Dilston College

Updated 24 March 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

The inspection was carried out by an inspector and an Expert 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

Cambian Dilston College is an educational college which also provides accommodation and personal care to some students. 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

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with 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 9 relatives about their experience of the care provided and observed the support of young people during our visit.

We spoke with 8 staff including the registered manager, senior support workers, head of care, college principal, facilities manager and transitions manager and senior support staff. We spoke with the regional lead for care who is the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We also contacted 22 staff in writing for their views.

We reviewed a range of records. This included people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed.

Updated 24 March 2023

About the service

Cambian Dilston College is a specialist residential college, providing educational services, accommodation and personal care for young people aged 16 to 25 with learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder and complex needs. Some people attend the college as day students and other people have residential places for up to 52 weeks. There were 9 young people receiving care and accommodation at the college during this inspection.

The accommodation is made up of several flats above the college and cottages in the grounds.

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.

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

Right Support: Staff knew people well and knew the most effective ways to communicate with each person. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff assisted them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service upheld this practice.

Right Care: The service provided safe, personalised care. Staff worked well with other agencies to do so. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people's needs and keep them safe. The provider assessed risks and staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it.

Right Culture: People received good quality care and support because trained staff could meet their needs and wishes. Staff knew and understood people well. The values and attitudes of leaders ensured people led inclusive and empowered lives. Relatives gave positive feedback about the caring attitudes of staff and the effective management of the service.

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 13 October 2021) and there was a breach of regulation. 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.

At our last inspection we recommended a more collaborative approach to the assessment process to ensure all people's needs can be met before they move to the college. At this inspection we found the provider had acted on this and the assessment process was more robust.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced focused inspection of this service 11 August 2021. A breach of legal requirements was found relating to good governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions Safe, Effective 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 requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

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.

You can read the report from our last inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Cambian Dilston College 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.