Brunswick House

Updated 31 October 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 03 October 2018 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

As part of the inspection process we looked at information we already held about the provider. Providers are required to notify the Care Quality Commission about specific events and incidents that occur including serious injuries to people receiving care and any incidences that put people at risk of harm. We refer to these as notifications. We checked if the provider had sent us notifications in order to plan the areas we wanted to focus on during our inspection.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We also contacted the local authority about information they held about the provider.

During our inspection we spoke to all three people who lived at the home and also made general observations around the home. We spoke to the registered manager, one senior support worker and two support staff. We also spoke with two visiting professionals and one relative.

We looked at records relating to the management of the service such as, care plans for three people, the incident and accident records, two staff recruitment files and medication records. We also looked at records which supported the provider to monitor the quality, management and safety of the service including health and safety audits, accidents and incidents records and compliments and complaints.

Updated 31 October 2018

We carried out this unannounced inspection on 03 October 2018. At the last inspection carried out in December 2016, we rated the service as ‘requires improvement’. At this inspection we found that the provider had made improvements and the service is now ‘good.’

Brunswick House is a ‘care home’ which provides support for people who are living with learning disability, autism or mental health conditions. 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 accommodates a maximum of five people in one adapted building. There were three people living in the home at the time of inspection.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were cared for by staff who were trained in recognising and how to report potential abuse. Staff knew how to raise any concerns about people’s safety and shared information so that people’s safety needs were met.

People were encouraged and supported to take positive risks and incidents and accidents were monitored carefully to ensure action could be taken to reduce the risk of re-occurrence.

People received their medication at the right time and there was sufficient staff on duty to keep people safe and to meet their needs in a personalised way.

Staff had access to specialist training which helped them support people in a confident and relaxed manner. People’s needs had been thoroughly assessed and were understood well by the staff team.

Staff were warm and caring in their work and people enjoyed their relationships with staff. People had opportunities to develop their independence and confidence through daily tasks and activities.

Staff organised themselves in a way that put people’s needs first and people and their relatives were supported to be involved in reviews of care and support.

Staff worked hard to help people maintain and improve relationships with their families.

The registered manager has developed a person centred culture where people’s needs are a priority and staff are supported to improve their practice. The provider has maintained a good oversight of the home and processes are effective in identifying areas for improvement and ensuring action is taken.