Gorse Hill

Gorse Hill provides accommodation and personal care for up to 10 people with a learning disability. At the time of our inspection, there were 5 people living in the home.

People’s experience of the 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.

The service demonstrated how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right Support

People were supported in a kind, sensitive and respectful way. People received person centred support and their needs were met. There were sufficient numbers of staff deployed to meet people's needs and ensure their safety. Staff were recruited safely, and relevant checks had been carried out. People were supported by staff who had been trained and were appropriately supervised. People’s needs were assessed prior to the receipt of service. Care and support had been developed around individual assessed needs and preferences. Staff worked in a way which promoted people's independence. People were supported to access healthcare services to ensure their health needs were met. People received their medicines in a safe way.

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 practice.

Right Care

People were positive about the care and support they received. People were treated with dignity and respect, and their independence was encouraged. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. People had personalised support plans which considered their needs and preferences. Any risks to people’s health and well-being had been assessed, recorded and mitigated as much as possible.

People could take part in activities and pursue interests that were tailored to them. The staff gave people opportunities to participate in a wide variety of activities that enhanced and enriched their lives. Staff knew people well and communicated effectively with them to ensure they felt understood and valued.

Right Culture

The registered manager and staff promoted a person-centred culture which was focused on meeting people's individual needs. The registered manager was committed to the continuous improvement of the service. The registered manager and staff sought feedback and worked in partnership with others including health and social care professionals to ensure people received the support they needed. Staff had access to a wide range of relevant training which was refreshed at regular intervals. The provider had established effective systems to monitor the quality of the service.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at the last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 29 September 2017).

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.

Gorse Hill provides accommodation and personal care for up to ten people with a learning disability. The home is set in its own grounds and is located near to local amenities. All accommodation is single occupancy, with some rooms taking the form of a small flat, with kitchen, living and bathroom areas. All bedrooms have an ensuite bathroom. At the time of the inspection there were eight people accommodated in the home.

The last inspection was carried out on 3 and 6 July 2015. Whilst we rated the service as overall “Good”, we found there were shortfalls in the implementation of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005. During this inspection, we found the necessary improvements had been made and the service was meeting all the current regulations.

People using the service told us they felt safe and staff treated them well. Safeguarding adults’ procedures were in place and staff understood their responsibilities to safeguard people from abuse. Potential risks to people's safety and welfare had been assessed and preventive measures had been put in place where required. People received their medicines safely and were supported to have a healthy diet.

Staff had the knowledge and skills required to meet people's individual needs effectively. There were arrangements in place for all new staff to complete a structured induction programme, which included the provider’s mandatory training. Staff were provided with a refresher training on an ongoing basis. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People’s healthcare needs were monitored as appropriate.

Staff treated people in a respectful and dignified manner and people's privacy was respected. People were involved in the development and review of their care plans. This meant people were able to influence the delivery of their care and staff had up to date information about people’s needs and wishes. We observed people were happy, comfortable and relaxed with staff. Care plans and risk assessments provided guidance for staff on how to meet people’s needs and were reviewed regularly. People were encouraged to build their independence skills and were supported to participate in a variety of daily activities.

The complaints procedure provided information on the action to take if a person wished to raise any concerns. People were aware of the complaints procedure and processes and were confident they would be listened to.

Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service provided and ensure people received safe and effective care. The arrangements in place for gathering people’s views about the service were mostly informal; however, the registered manager was working to an action plan, which included the distribution of satisfaction questionnaires. The registered manager also intended to record discussion and agreements following residents’ meetings. All people spoken with were satisfied with the service and felt the management team and staff were approachable, helpful and supportive.