Tristford

Updated 18 August 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.

Inspection team

This inspection was completed by one inspector.

Service and service type

Tristford 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. Tristford 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 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 about their experiences of the service. We spoke with five staff including the registered manager, nominated individual and three care staff. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records, multiple medication records and two staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including checks and audits were reviewed.

Updated 18 August 2022

About the service

Tristford is a residential care home that accommodates up to 12 adults who have a learning and or physical disability. The service is a large, converted property. Accommodation is arranged over two floors and there is a lift to assist people to get to the upper floor. At the time of the inspection there were 11 people with physical disabilities living at the service.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right support

¿ People had choice and control over their lives. They set goals with staff and were supported to develop and maintain their independence.

Right care

¿ People planned their care with staff and told us staff supported them in the way they preferred. People were supported to maintain relationships with their friends and family and make new friends when they wished. They told us they had privacy and staff treated them with dignity and respect.

Right culture

¿ People were supported by experienced staff they knew well. There was a clear ethos of care with all staff valuing people’s independence and autonomy. This was supported by the registered manager and provider. One person told us they had “freedom” to do what they wanted.

People told us they felt safe living at Tristford. One person told us, “I couldn’t live in a better place”. Staff knew how to identify and report any safeguarding concerns. People were confident to raise any concerns they had and told us staff always acted on concerns they raised.

There were enough staff with the skills and competence to meet people’s needs. People described the staff as “brilliant”, “fantastic” and “I couldn’t ask for better people”.

Risks to people had been identified and assessed. Action had been taken to support people to remain independent and any risks associated with this had been assessed and reduced. Lessons had been learnt when things had gone wrong and the provider had taken action to prevent similar incidents occurring again. People’s medicines were managed well, and they received their medicines as prescribed.

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. The registered manager knew when and how to apply to deprive some people of their liberty in their best interests. People were not restricted and were free to come and go as they pleased.

The service was clean, and people were protected from the risk of the spread of infection. People’s rooms had been personalised and they considered the service to be their home.

The service was led by the registered manager. Staff felt supported and were clear about their roles and what was expected of them. Checks on the quality of the service were completed regularly and action was taken to address any shortfalls found. People, their relatives and staff had been asked for their feedback on the service and this had been used to make improvements.

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 (11 April 2019).

Why we inspected

This inspection was triggered in part by potential risks around the management of the service. Since our last inspection the directors of the company have changed.

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

Recommendations

We made a recommendation about involving people in the selection of new staff.

Follow up

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