St Brannocks

Updated 1 May 2020

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

St Brannocks is a ‘care home’. 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.

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 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 took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service about their experience of the support provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager and support workers. We spent time observing people being supported in communal areas.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and a sample of medication records. We looked at one staff file in relation to recruitment and staff supervision as well as a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 1 May 2020

About the service

St Brannocks is a residential care home providing personal care for up to six people. At the time of the inspection four people were using the service. The service is registered to provide support to people living with learning disabilities and autism.

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

People told us they were happy living at the service. One person told us, “ I am very happy, the staff are nice and kind.” Another person commented, “Best house in the world, it’s a very happy house.”

People continued to be supported to remain safe. Risks to health and safety were well managed. Staff knew how to protect people from abuse and when and how to raise concerns. Medicines were managed safely and people received these on time and as prescribed. Incidents and accidents continued to be reported appropriately and were used as learning opportunities to improve people’s support.

People’s needs continued to be assessed before they moved into the service. The assessment was used to plan people’s support, staff training and staffing levels. Staff were well supported and supervised, they had the skills and training needed to support people. Staff were motivated and said they enjoyed their roles. Staff continued to be recruited safely to make sure they were suitable to work with vulnerable people.

People were supported to access healthcare services, including dental care and specialised support for specific conditions. People had enough to eat and drink, they were encouraged to use the kitchen to prepare meals with staff support where needed.

People were involved in decisions about their care and were supported to make choices. 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.

Staff were kind and caring and offered people emotional support when this was needed. People were encouraged to express their views about their care and support. People said they were listened to by staff. Staff respected people’s privacy and people were treated in a dignified manner.

People had the opportunity to feedback about their support or any concerns through surveys, house meetings and one to one meetings. People knew the registered manager and staff well and interacted readily with them throughout the day. People and their relatives knew how to complain if they chose to do so. Care plans and support was person-centred and staff knew people well.

There were systems in place to check and maintain the quality of the service to ensure people received a good standard of care. The service continued to work in partnership with other service to improve outcomes for people.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. These ensure people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes which 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 (published on 27 March 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.