Stuart House

Updated 13 February 2019

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 4 January 2019 and was unannounced. The inspection visit was carried out by one inspector and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. This inspection was in response to concerning information we had received about safeguarding incidents involving challenging behaviours that exposed people to potential harm. Due to these concerns, we brought the inspection date forward.

The provider had not been asked to complete a Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. Before the inspection we looked at previous inspection reports and notifications about important events that had taken place at the service, which the provider is required to tell us by law.

People who lived at the service had complex needs. We spoke in depth to two people who used the service about their experiences. We gathered information about the care people received by observing how people responded to staff when care was delivered. We spoke with four staff members which included the operations manager, the business development manager and the new manager of the service.

We looked at two people’s records to see how their care and treatment was planned and delivered. We reviewed four staff files to check staff were recruited safely and were trained to deliver the care and support people required. We also looked at records relating to the running of the service including quality assurance audits, complaints, accidents and incident records.

We asked the manager to send additional information after the inspection visit, which included the training records and additional audits.

The information we requested was sent to us in a timely manner.

Updated 13 February 2019

This comprehensive inspection took place on 04 January 2019 and was unannounced.

Stuart 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.

Stuart House is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 11 people with mental health needs and learning disabilities who do not require nursing care. At the time of our inspection, two people lived in the home.

At our last inspection on 28 March 2017, we rated the service Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

People were protected against the risk of abuse, they felt safe and staff recognised the signs of abuse or neglect and what to look out for. Management and staff understood their role and responsibilities to report any concerns and were confident in doing so.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

There were risk assessments in place to identify and reduce risks that may be involved when meeting people’s needs. Risk assessments related to people’s mental health and details of how the risks could be reduced. This enabled the staff to take immediate action to minimise or prevent harm to people.

There continued to be sufficient numbers of suitable staff to meet people’s needs and promote people’s safety. Staff had been provided with relevant training and they attended regular supervision and team meetings. The provider continued to follow safe recruitment practices to help ensure staff were suitable for their job role.

We observed that staff had developed very positive relationships with people. Staff were kind and respectful, we saw that they were aware of how to respect people’s privacy and dignity.

Medicines safely. People continued to have good access to health and social care professionals when required.

People were involved in assessment and care planning processes. Their support needs, likes and lifestyle preferences had been carefully considered and were reflected within their care and support plans.

People had opportunities to follow their interests and hobbies and they were introduced to varied activities. People told us their privacy, dignity and confidentiality were maintained.

People’s feedback was sought and used to improve the care. People knew how to make a complaint and complaints were managed in accordance with the provider’s complaints policy.

The manager and provider continued to regularly assess and monitor the quality of care to ensure standards were met and maintained.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.