Archived: Number 14

Updated 25 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 home under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection team consisted of one adult social care inspector.

Service and service type:

Number 14 is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. 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 home is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

The inspection was unannounced and took place on the 8 May 2019.

What we did:

Before the inspection we reviewed the information, we held about the home, including notifications we had received. Notifications are changes, events or incidents the provider is legally required to tell us about within required timescales. We also asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). The PIR is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give us some key information about the home, what the home does well and improvements they plan to make. We used this information to plan the inspection.

We spoke with two people living at the home, one relative, two members of staff, and the registered manager. We asked the local authority who commissions care services from the home for their views on the care and support provided.

To help us assess and understand how people's care needs were being met we reviewed three people’s care records. We also reviewed records relating to the running of the home. These included staff recruitment and training records, medicine records and records associated with the provider's quality assurance systems.

Updated 25 June 2019

About the service: Number 14 is registered to provide personal care and support for up to two young people who have a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder. The home does not provide nursing care. At the time of the inspection there were two people living at the home.

People’s experience of using this service: People told us they felt safe and happy living at Number 14 and gave us positive feedback about the care and support provided. Number 14 had been developed and designed prior to Building the Right Support and Registering the Right Support guidance being published. We found the outcomes for people living at the home reflected some of these values and principles.

Since the last inspection, the registered manager had made several improvements, however some improvements were still needed. We checked whether the home was working within the principles of The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). We found there was a risk that people's rights were not protected as staff did not have a clear understanding of how to apply it in their daily work. We have made a recommendation in relation to mental capacity and the best interest decision making process.

People’s medicines were managed, stored and administered safely and appropriately by staff who had been trained and assessed as competent to do so. We have made a recommendation about PRN medicines. These are medicines used ‘as required’ to support people, for example because they are in pain.

People were protected from potential abuse by staff who had received training and were confident in raising concerns. There was a thorough recruitment process in place that checked potential staff were safe to work with people who may be vulnerable.

People received personalised care from staff who knew them well and understood how to meet their needs. Support plans contained information about individual preferences and what was important to people such as interests and activities.

Risks associated with people’s complex care needs and the environment had been appropriately assessed and staff were provided with information on how to support people safely.

People were encouraged and supported to lead full and active lifestyles, follow their interests, and take part in social activities.

People were treated kindly and compassionately by staff and were supported to express their views and make decisions about their care. People and their relatives felt comfortable raising complaints and were confident these would be listened to and acted on.

The provider had an effective governance system in place. The management team continued to carry out a regular programme of audits to assess the safety and quality of the service and identify issues.

Rating at last inspection: Number 14 was previously rated as ‘Requires Improvement.’ The report was published on the 2 May 2018.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection that was scheduled to take place in line with Care Quality Commission scheduling guidelines for adult social care services.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme.

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