Background to this inspection
Updated
12 February 2019
The inspection:
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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.
Inspection team: One adult social care inspector carried out this inspection.
Service and service type:
The service 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 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. At the time of our visit the registered manager was on holiday.
Notice of inspection: This inspection was unannounced.
What we did:
Before the inspection we reviewed information available to us about this service. This included statutory notifications. Statutory notifications contain information about certain events which the provider is legally obliged to report to us such as abuse; and we sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We assessed the information received in the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection we spoke with the deputy manager, administrator and four staff members. We also spoke with five people and spent time observing the environment. We also met with a visiting healthcare professional and spoke with two relatives of people who used the service.
We looked at three people’s care records including medication administration records (MARs). We looked at three staff members records. We looked at records relating to the management of the service. These included accident and incident records, meeting minutes and quality assurance records.
Updated
12 February 2019
About the service: Autism Care and Support also known as Jubilee Court is a care home that provides accommodation with support for up to 13 people with a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder. On the day of our visit there were 10 people using the service.
The care 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.
People’s experience of using this service: People we spoke with told us they were very happy living at Autism Care and Support. People told us they were involved in developing their support plan and encouraged to partake in new activities and opportunities. People were supported to have individual communication and coping strategies so their independence could be maximised.
Staff took steps to safeguard vulnerable adults and promoted their human rights. Incidents were dealt with appropriately, which helped to keep people safe. People’s health needs were identified and external professionals involved if necessary. Information could be shared with other agencies as needed. People and staff were also supported with their well-being by the provider and management team.
People told us care staff were caring, supportive and kind. We observed staff members supporting people in a dignified and confidential manner. There was also lots of laughter and fun and people we spoke with and their relatives said that people enjoyed positive and therapeutic relationships with the staff team.
Support plans were detailed and showed people were involved in planning their own lives with staff support where able. Plans were person-centred, meaning people were at the heart of how they wanted their care and support to be provided. We discussed that individual’s plans relating to the management of incidents needed to be more detailed and specific for the staff team. The managers had already identified this following some recent training and this was in the process of being actioned.
Staff told us they felt well trained and supported and spoke of the management team in a positive light stating that people who lived at the service were now taking the lead of planning their own lives with support from the staff team. We saw staff upheld and promoted people’s rights relating to equality and diversity and the staff team and people had a strategy together to improve dignity at the home.
The service was well run. The managers carried out lots of checks to make sure that the service was effective. The service was more integrated into the local community and the vision and values of supporting people to be as independent as possible was now very much embedded. Generally people, relatives and staff said they found the management team approachable and people’s feedback with listened to and acted upon.
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.
Rating at the last inspection: The service was rated as good and the report was published in December 2015.
Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.