1 Lansdowne Road

Updated 11 February 2022

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.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of COVID-19, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice is safe and that services are compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 21 January 2022 and was unannounced.

Updated 11 February 2022

About the service

1 Lansdowne Road is a care home that provides personal care to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people. The service was a large home, bigger than most domestic style properties. It was registered for the support of up to 13 people. At the time of inspection, 12 people were living at 1 Lansdowne Road.

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.

Based on our review of the key questions of Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led, The service was somewhat able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

1 Lansdowne Road is larger than average for a care home supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people. As a domestic property, the building fitted into the local residential area and there was nothing outside to show it was a care home. People were provided with care that promoted their dignity, privacy and human rights. However, whilst the size of the location did not impact on the ability of the service to meet people’s basic care needs, the provider had not fully considered how to maximise people’s choice, control and independence.

Since the last inspection, some improvements had been made and people were now being given more opportunities to develop their independence, such as by helping with household tasks. However, work was still required to identify and support people to achieve their goals and aspirations. This had been identified by the provider during a recent audit and steps were being taken to address this. For example, a key worker system was being embedded at the service to further enhance the person-centred care provided and increase focus on the outcomes for the people supported.

We have recommended the service reviews the ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance and considers the ways in which it can further promote person-centred care, which promotes choice, inclusion, control and independence.

People were not able to tell us in detail about their experiences of living at 1 Lansdowne Road. However, they appeared relaxed in the presence of staff and comfortable with the support they received. Both relatives and staff reported an improved, person centred culture at the service since the last inspection.

People were supported by trained staff, who felt supported by the management team. People’s healthcare and nutritional and hydration needs were met, and staff ensured they liaised with external professionals, where required.

The provider’s governance systems were effective in identifying the improvements required at the service and plans were in place to action the issues recorded.

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 Requires Improvement (published 14 June 2019).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on our ongoing monitoring of the service. We undertook a focused inspection to assess any improvements the provider had made. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions of Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-Led, which were where improvements were identified as required at the previous inspection.

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 coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively. We were assured the service was managing appropriately infection prevention and control risks, in relation to COVID-19 and in line with guidance.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for 1 Lansdowne Road on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.