Archived: Bassett House

Updated 10 March 2022

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 included checking the provider was meeting COVID-19 vaccination requirements. 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

Two inspectors carried out this inspection.

Service and service type

Bassett House 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. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with CQC. 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 gave a short period notice of the inspection to check the COVID-19 status of the home, and to check we would be able to comply with social distancing and other pandemic requirements during the visit. As this was not possible initially the on-site inspection was delayed. Inspection activity started on 14 January 2022 and ended on 2 February 2022. We visited the location on 26 January 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included notifications of events providers are required to tell us about, and information from members of the public about their experience of the service.

Due to technical problems, the provider was not able to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). A PIR is information providers 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. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three relatives of people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager and five members of staff.

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

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager to validate evidence found. We looked at records sent to us by the registered manager. These included meeting minutes, surveys, and staff training records. We also received feedback from the local authority.

Updated 10 March 2022

About the service

Bassett House is a residential care home providing accommodation for up to five people who require personal care. The service provides support to people with learning disability or autistic people. At the time of the inspection there were four people living in Bassett House. The accommodation is spread over two floors. There were bedrooms on both levels of the home and all bedrooms had a private bathroom.

Everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

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

People appeared happy living at Bassett House. Relatives told us they felt safe, got on well with the staff, and were given choice as to how they lived their lives.

We found the provider ensured people were supported safely. There were sufficient numbers of suitable, motivated staff, however the provider’s recruitment process did not always meet the requirements. We discussed this with the registered manager who resolved this during the inspection. Assurances had been obtained for relevant jobs and there was supervision and probation in place to mitigate this. We also found that agencies being used were not checking staff employment history in line with the requirements.

We have made a recommendation about getting assurances from employment agencies.

Processes and procedures were in place to store and administer medicines safely. We were assured appropriate infection prevention and control measures were in place to protect people against the risk of COVID-19 and other infections.

The service was well led. The staff team told us they felt supported by the registered manager. People who used the service and staff were involved in how the service was managed. The registered manager had processes in place to monitor and improve the quality of service people received.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

Based on our review of safe and well-led the service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. The service was maximising people’s choice, control and independence. The care was person-centred and promoted people’s dignity, privacy and human rights. The values and attitudes of the registered manager and staff ensured that people using the service lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives.

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 good (published 5 September 2017).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted due to concerns received about the provider following inspections of their other locations. We received concerns in relation to staffing, medicines, safeguarding incidents and safe environment.

As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this report.

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. This included checking the provider was meeting COVID-19 vaccination 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 remained good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Bassett House 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.