Archived: Cornerways

Updated 28 June 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:

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type:

Cornerways is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to eight learners. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The home 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 gave the home 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small, and the manager and staff are often out supporting learners to college or in the community. We needed to be sure that they would be in.

What we did:

Before the inspection: We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). Providers are required to send us key information about their home, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We reviewed notifications sent to the CQC about important events at the home and information sent to us from other stakeholders for example the local authority and members of the public.

During the inspection: We spoke with two learners living at the home, the registered manager, operations manager, staff from the providers HR, training and estates teams and three members of support staff. We pathway tracked the care of three learners. Pathway tracking is where we check that the care detailed in individual plans matches the experience of the person receiving care.

We completed observations in communal areas. Where learners were unable to answer direct questions, we observed their engagement in daily tasks. We reviewed records including accident and incident logs, quality assurance records, compliments and complaints, policies and procedures and four staff recruitment records.

After the inspection: We spoke to two relatives to gain their opinions of the service provided at Cornerways.

Updated 28 June 2019

About the service:

Cornerways is a residential home providing accommodation and care to eight young adults who attend St John's School and College. Cornerways is based in Hove and is a short distance from the college campus. There were eight young men living at the home at the time of the inspection. The young men living at the home are referred to as learners by the provider and within this report. Learners can live at the home for their three years at the college, 38 weeks a year, during term time.

The outcomes for learners living at the home reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support in the following ways; promotion of choice and control, independence and inclusion. Learner's support focussed on having as many opportunities as possible to gain new skills and become more independent.

People’s experience of using this service:

Learners were safe from the risk of abuse. One learner told us, “The staff are kind and I know they are always there, that makes me safe.” Staff had a flexible approach to risk management which ensured learners could have new experiences and maintain their independence. There were enough staff to meet learner's needs.

Learners were supported to have maximum choice and control over their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the home supported this practice. Staff had the skills and knowledge to deliver effective care and support. Learners were supported to maintain a balanced diet and had access healthcare services as and when needed. One learner told us, “I like living here and I like the food.”

Learners were treated with kindness and respect. They were supported to be involved in decisions about their care and given support to express their views. Learner's independence was promoted, and their differences respected. They were supported to maintain relationships that were important to them. Relatives told us their sons received support from staff who cared about them.

Care was personalised to meet learner’s care, social and wellbeing needs. They had access to a range of activities that met their interests and were connected to the local community through voluntary work, leisure activities and charitable events. Staff knew them well and delivered their support in the way they preferred.

Learners and staff were complementary of the management of the home and staff felt well supported. The culture of the home was positive. Systems and process were in place to monitor the quality of the service being delivered. One staff member told us, “Staff morale is really good, we have a great team, settled and supportive. We know each other, and we work with every learner to support their needs.”

Rating at last inspection: Good (The previous inspection report was published on 25 July 2016)

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the intelligence we receive about this home and plan to inspect in line with our re-inspection schedule for those services rated Good.

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