About the service Jemini Place is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for one autistic person at the time of inspection. The service can support up to six people. There were two bedrooms on the ground floor that had been adapted to become one unit comprising a bedroom and a kitchen/diner. There were four bedrooms on the first floor, and they were unoccupied at the time of inspection.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Jemini Place was clean and tidy throughout. Some staff wore fabric masks. When we highlighted that this was not in line with government guidance this was rectified immediately and the home’s infection, prevention and control policy was updated. Enhanced cleaning had been instigated as a result of the pandemic, staff had received additional training and the service had a visiting procedure that complied with government guidance.
There was a very large staff team in use for one person and staff worked across two different settings. This was not ideal and there was an ongoing recruitment programme. The person needed staff who knew them well and it was not considered appropriate to use agency staff. To mitigate this risk until enough staff were recruited, all staff were tested daily and meetings were held to ensure staff were consistent in their support of the person.
The person was protected from the risks of harm, abuse or discrimination because staff knew how to recognise and respond to any possible abuse. Recruitment practice was thorough and ensured only suitable staff worked at the service. There were suitable arrangements to respond to any risk to the person and to provide the person with their prescribed medicines.
There was a positive culture at the service and the registered manager and home manager worked closely with staff to ensure the person was supported appropriately and safely. There was a clear management structure and staff knew their individual roles and responsibilities.
The person was supported to have maximum choice and control of their life 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.
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:
• We were told that where the person used to live, they did not like having to wait to use the bathroom or kitchen and that they were very sensitive to the noises generated from communal living. Since moving to Jemini Place and having their own bathroom and kitchen this had a very positive impact on their wellbeing. They told us they were happy at Jemini Place. Where they lived previously, they had three to one staff support. This had been reassessed and reduced to two to one staff support.
Right care:
• Care was person-centred and based on what the person wanted to do each day. Although they had two to one staffing, it was recognised that they needed space to be on their own at times, to use the bathroom and to spend quiet time in their bedroom. There was advice and guidance in the person’s care plan about how to support the person and to recognise the times when they might need reassurance and how to provide this.
Right culture:
• When staff came on duty, the person enjoyed selecting the staff photos and placing them on a board. There was clear advice that when handovers were carried out and therefore additional staff on the premises, this should not increase noise levels, so the person continued to feel safe and secure. There were pictures of the person doing the activities they liked to do. Each day staff gave them a choice of two of the activities. This was in addition to a wide variety of home-based activities. Staff told us that the registered manager was approachable and easy to speak with and there were regular opportunities to share their views about Jemini Place either in individual supervision or at staff meetings.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection (and update)
This service was registered with us on 10/10/2018 and became dormant on 12/03/2019. The service became operational again in January 2021 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection as the service had not had an inspection since it was first registered and was now operational again.
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.
We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern.
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.