Abbey House

Updated 8 October 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Abbey House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Abbey House is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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 inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, two carers, the activities coordinator and the behavioural practitioner. We reviewed a range of records. This included support plans and medicines records for five people. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment. We also reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service. After the inspection we continued to review a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including risk assessments, quality assurance records, training data and policies and procedures. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We received feedback from seven relatives, one professional and six members of staff.

Updated 8 October 2022

About the service

Abbey House is a residential care home providing care and accommodation to up to eight people living with learning disabilities, sensory impairments or physical disabilities. They specialise in supporting people living with Prader-Willi syndrome. Prader-Willi syndrome is a genetic condition which causes a range of physical symptoms and learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were eight people using the service.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Based on our review of safe and well led the service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. The provider was passionate about promoting people’s independence and supporting people to develop their skills and reduce restrictions.

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. People were involved in managing their own risks whenever possible. Staff anticipated and managed risk in a person-centred way, there was a culture of positive risk taking

People and relatives gave mixed feedback about whether people always felt safe living at the service. There were times people living at the service experienced emotional distress which impacted on others wellbeing. The provider had implemented strategies and procedures to manage the risks and impact on people. People confirmed they felt safer with the measures the provider had implemented and were regularly asked for their feedback.

People and staff were supported to attend safeguarding training. Staff understood their responsibilities to safeguard people from abuse. There were appropriate policies and systems in place to safeguard people.

People’s care and support was provided in a safe, clean, well equipped and well-furnished environment. The environment met peoples sensory and physical needs. There was some maintenance the provider was in the process of carrying out which when completed would enhance the environment.

People told us there were generally enough staff to meet their needs and we observed safe staffing levels throughout the inspection. Most staff confirmed there were enough staff, although agency staff were required to support staffing levels. The provider adjusted staffing levels to meet people’s changing needs and supported additional staffing when required. However, some staff felt additional training and support for night staff would be helpful.

Accidents and incidents were documented and investigated with action taken to prevent a reoccurrence. The provider supported people and staff with debriefs following incidents and opportunities to feedback.

During the inspection staff were relaxed, confident and engaged with people consistently. We observed people being offered choice and being listened to. The registered manager understood the service they managed. They had a vision for the service and for each person who used the service. We observed the open-door policy in place within the service. Throughout the inspection people and staff approached the registered manager and we observed people clearly knew the registered manager.

People worked with managers and staff to develop and improve the service. The registered manager had a service improvement plan in place to drive improvements to the service. The management and staff team worked in partnership with a variety of healthcare professionals and had developed good working relationships which supported positive outcomes for people.

The provider had systems and processes in place for monitoring the quality of care and to drive improvements. Staff felt included, confident and supported in making suggestions. The registered manager spoke about the importance of valuing staff and strived to be inclusive and supportive.

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 21 March 2019).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to safeguarding. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has remained good based on the findings of this inspection. We found the provider had effective strategies, procedures and policies in place to mitigate the risk of harm to people. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Abbey House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.