Archived: Durlston House

Updated 21 February 2020

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector

Service and service type

Durlston House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager awaiting registration 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.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We used information we held about the provider and details from notifications received. We spoke with five health and social care professionals for their feedback. We also used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with relatives of two people. We observed some care and support interactions as people were not able to share their feedback with us about living at Durlston House. We looked at records and support plans relating to four people’s care. These included medicine and incident records. We spoke with six members of staff either by formal interview or informal conversation. These included the manager, regional manager, deputy manager and support workers. We also reviewed information relating to the management of the home, such as staff recruitment files and quality monitoring audits.

Updated 21 February 2020

About the service

Durlston House is a residential care home providing personal care to 5 people with a diagnosis of autism and learning disabilities at the time of the inspection.

People had access to communal lounge and areas, a large garden and a sensory room. One person had a self-contained flat with a private courtyard as part of the property. The home was located in a residential area, a short car journey or walking distance of the local community.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

People were supported to have 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. However, some mental capacity assessments and best interest decisions needed to be reviewed to include more specific information.

People were supported to be involved in decisions. People’s parents were consulted with appropriately and advocacy services were used when needed. The relevant multidisciplinary professionals were consulted to review people’s support, to ensure the home continued to meet their needs.

Support plans reflected people’s needs, usual routines and choices, and were kept up to date in the event of any changes.

People were supported by staff who knew them well. People took part in activities and hobbies of their interest. Staff spoke with pride about supporting people to live fulfilling lives, with a good quality of community and social engagement.

People’s bedrooms were personalised in colour and decoration. People’s relatives confirmed people felt comfortable in their bedroom and home environments. We received positive feedback from each relative we spoke with.

Staff understood the risks to people’s safety and wellbeing and knew how to reduce the likelihood of risks occurring. Risks were assessed and recorded in people’s support plans. These were reviewed when needed.

Referrals were made to health and social care professionals when people’s needs changed. Records showed people were supported to attend health care appointments, such as seeing the doctor, nurse and dentist.

There were enough staff available to meet people’s needs, however there were some staff vacancies. There were active recruitment drives taking place. New staff were appointed subject to satisfactory employment and character background checks.

People were supported by staff who had received the right training to enable them to support people’s needs. Staff felt supported by the provider and the management team.

There was a manager in post, supported by a regional manager and deputy manager. There was a good managerial oversight of the service and there were plans for continual quality improvement.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence. The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The rating at the last inspection was Good (published 21 April 2018). Since this rating was awarded the registered provider of the service has changed. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Durlston House 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.