Bennethorpe House

Updated 10 December 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was undertaken by one adult social care inspector.

Service and service type:

Bennethorpe House is a ‘care home.’ People in homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service specialises in providing care and support to people with learning disabilities and other complex needs, such as autism or mental health needs. The accommodation is an ordinary family home in the community.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We visited Bennethorpe House on 30 October 2019. We gave the registered manager short notice that we were going to visit. This was because this is a very small service and we wanted to be sure someone would be in when we visited.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. This included reviewing any notifications of accidents and incidents and information we had received from external agencies. We also received feedback about the service from one social care professional. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

This inspection included meeting the two people who lived at the home, the registered manager and two care workers. We reviewed the two people's care records, two staff personnel files, audits and other records about the management of the service. We observed the interactions between the people who lived in the home and the staff supporting them.

Updated 10 December 2019

About the service:

Bennethorpe is a care home registered to care for two people who have a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder and mental health needs. At the time of the inspection two people were living in the home.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

We found the outcomes for people using this service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

People’s experience of using this service:

People were safe and protected from avoidable harm and relevant risk assessments were in place. We saw that people were comfortable in the presence of the staff and people told us they felt safe. People's medicines were managed safely. There were enough staff on duty to ensure people’s needs were met and they had been recruited in a way that helped to keep people safe.

People were supported to access healthcare services as needed. 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. Staff received training to ensure that they had the necessary skills to care for and support the people who lived at the home.

Staff were kind and caring towards people and had developed strong and positive relationships with them. Staff treated people with respect and supported them in a way that allowed them to be as independent as possible. People and their relatives were involved in the planning and review of their care.

Care and support plans were personalised and detailed. They included information about people’s preferences and abilities. People were supported to make day to day choices and decisions about their lives and were able to participate in their hobbies and interests. There was a focus on treating people with equality and on involving and empowering those with communication difficulties, to ensure their voices were heard and valued. There was a system in place to manage complaints.

Leadership and management were of good quality and people who used the service, their relatives and representatives were involved in how the service was run and operated. The service had systems in place to monitor the quality of the care provided. Staff felt supported and spoke positively about the provider and registered manager.

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

Rating at last inspection:

The service was rated good at the last inspection in March 2017 (published 19 April 2017).

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating awarded at the last inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.