Flint Green House

Updated 22 January 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

Flint Green House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager who was registered with the CQC. The registered manager and the provider were legally responsible for how the service was run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was unannounced.

Before our inspection

The provider had not been asked to complete a new Provider Information Return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We attempted to secure feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. This information helps support our inspections. We used this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with seven people who used the service, and one person who had previously used the service about their experience of the care and support provided. We spoke with four staff, the registered manager and three external healthcare professionals. We reviewed a range of records. This included, assessment of need documents, health action plans, risk assessments and medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision, and a variety of records, policies and procedures about the management. We looked at the premises which included two people’s bedrooms, two kitchens, bath and shower rooms, the main lounge, dining room and an activities room.

Updated 22 January 2020

About the service Flint Green House had a registration to provide personal care and accommodation to a maximum of 15 people. People who lived there had a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia. At the time of the inspection 11 people lived at the home. Placements at the home were generally time limited to 18 months.

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

People felt safe and were supported by staff who knew how to protect them from avoidable harm. Overall, risks to people's health and well-being had been assessed and monitored to ensure they were kept safe. People received their medication as prescribed. Staff were recruited safely and there were enough staff to meet people's needs. The home was visibly clean.

People made their own decisions about their care and were continually supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. Staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and supported people in a non-restrictive way that accorded with their best interests. People enjoyed the ethos of the service which focussed on independence and inclusion. Training had been received by staff and refresher training was within set timeframes. People were supported by staff who knew them well. People’s physical healthcare and mental health needs were monitored by external healthcare professionals to promote their well-being.

People told us staff were caring, kind and treated them with dignity and respect. People were encouraged to develop and maintain their independence skills. Visitors were made to feel welcome.

Assessment and reviews of people’s care and support needs were undertaken regularly or more frequently when it was required. People were included in these processes to ensure all needs were determined and addressed. People told us they would feel comfortable to raise any complaints they had with the staff or registered manager.

People told us the service was well-led. They told us the management team and staff were very good. Provider feedback processes had been used to gather information about the views of people and stakeholders about the service provision. The registered manager understood their regulatory responsibilities and their requirement to provide us (CQC) with notifications about important events and incidents that occurred whilst the service was delivering care. A current issue and some improvements were needed elating to quality assurance systems.

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 04 August 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.