The Cottage

Updated 19 August 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 1 inspector.

Service and service type

The cottage is a ‘care home’. 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. The cottage is a care home without nursing care. 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

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we had received about the service since the last inspection.

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 to 6 staff members including the registered manager. We spoke to 1 family member and we used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed 2 care plans and 2 staff recruitment files. We reviewed policies and procedures and audits relating to the governance of the service.

Updated 19 August 2023

About the service

The cottage is a 4-bedroom care home, providing support and personal care for 2 people. It is in a semi-rural location and set within a shared courtyard with a large private garden. Each person living in the home has their own bedroom and share a communal lounge and kitchen area. The other 2 rooms within the home were used for the staff carrying out sleep in duties and an office.

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 in a kind and respectful way by their staff team. People or their advocate were involved in their care planning and people were supported to engage in activities to promote independence and prevent social isolation. Activities were tailored and adapted in line with people’s assessed needs.

Care plans were reflective of people’s needs and contained personalised information. Risk assessments were in place to ensure people were supported safely and any risk mitigated.

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: Staff promoted equality and diversity in their support for people. Care was person centred. Staff knew the people they supported well and promoted independency were possible. The service had a consistent staff team with appropriately skilled staff to meet the needs of people and keep them safe.

Right Culture: All staff including the management team were aware of people’s wishes, needs and support and ensured they were central to support provided. The service was always looking for new ways to improve the support they provided. New activities and social interactions were introduced at a steady pace to ensure people were planned and prepared for any changes.

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

The service registered with CQC on 02 April 2015. The last rating for this service was good (01 June 2016).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

We made a recommendation the provider reviews all MCA records to ensure all decisions are clearly evidenced.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.