Star House

Updated 1 November 2019

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The first day was an unannounced inspection carried out by two inspectors and a specialist advisor with experience of children’s care, including end of life care. One inspector returned to spend time with young people and staff in an announced visit covering an afternoon and early evening.

Service and service type

Star House is a specialist ‘care home’ which provides short stay respite placements for young people under 18 with highly complex support needs. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. Regulatory oversight is by both CQC and Ofsted. CQC regulates the care provided.

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

This inspection was unannounced on the first day. A second day was arranged with the service so inspectors could spend time with young people and staff, as no young people were present on the first day.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed all the information we held about the service, including notifications of incidents the provider is legally obliged to send us. We looked at the past report for the service, and asked other agencies such as the local authority safeguarding team and Healthwatch for any information they held about the service. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We did not receive any information of concern.

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection-

We looked at five people’s care plans, and other documentation relating to the provision of care and support in the home including records relating to medicines administration and the systems in place to ensure these were managed safely. We also reviewed records relating to the management of the service, including two staff recruitment records, surveys, audits and feedback the service had received.

On the second day of inspection we spent time in the communal areas of the home with young people and staff. We joined in with activities to help us make discreet observations of the quality of care and support provided.

After the inspection we received feedback from seven relatives, either by phone or in response to an email we asked the registered manager to send.

After the inspection

We asked the registered manager to send us some more information to validate our judgement, and received this in a timely fashion.

Updated 1 November 2019

Star House is a short break, respite service for children and young people up to the age of 18 who have learning disabilities, physical disabilities and/or complex health needs who require nursing or personal care. It is a fully accessible single storey building with gardens and can accommodate seven young people. On the first day of our unannounced inspection there were no young people using the service. This was because the provider had closed the service for two days for staff training. We made an announced second visit to the service when four young people were using the service.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

Star House was an exemplary model of person-centred care, driven by passionate management and staff who placed young people and their families at the heart of the service. There was a joyful, uplifting atmosphere in the home, which young people clearly loved. Young people were encouraged to achieve meaningful goals through use of best practice approaches and a desire to support them to experience the most out of life. Any barriers to participation in any aspect of life were removed, and young people were supported to overcome considerable challenges to achieve this aim. Respect for young people’s individual personalities and needs were central to the outstanding achievements at the service.

Young people received excellent support to express themselves and their wishes, even when they did not communicate verbally. Staff were highly trained, knowledgeable and passionate about the service giving young people the very best experience they could, and relatives told us they were highly appreciative of the support provided to them. The service had been well adapted for the needs of a diverse service user group, and had explored innovative ways to ensure young people had exemplary support to express their views and emotions.

The support provided to young people around death and dying was a powerful feature of this service. Where they needed it, young people had received the most sensitive, caring support to understand and overcome challenging emotions.

The management and culture at the service were outstanding. Young people’s rights, experiences and diverse needs were championed and celebrated, and staff at all levels used joyful language when talking about young people and the work they did. Staff turnover was low and we found their commitment to providing the highest standards of care were unwavering. Young people and their families were true partners in defining and running the service, and partnership work with health professionals and the local community was a strong foundation for providing excellent care and support.

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. 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.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good. (Report published 10 January 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Star House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.