Brentwood

Updated 7 March 2024

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

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

Brentwood is a ‘care home without nursing’. 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. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

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 sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 also contacted Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager, 2 members of staff and two relatives. We reviewed a range of records. This included 2 people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff support. We also viewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

Updated 7 March 2024

About the service

Brentwood is a residential service providing personal care for up to 4 people with a learning disability. The service operates from an adapted building with an enclosed garden in a residential area of Sunderland. At the time of inspection there were 4 people living at the service.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. 'Right support, right care, right culture' is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it

Right Support

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. All staff ensured people living in the service were happy with the environment and found ways to promote their independence; their passions and interests were maintained wherever possible. People and relatives were involved in every stage of care planning. Systems and records were in place to ensure people received person-centred, safe care. People were supported safely with medicines. Infection prevention and control practices reflected current guidance.

Right Care

People received kind and compassionate care. People and their relatives were very positive about the care provided. People told us they felt safe and staff had the skills to support them. Staff protected and respected people's privacy and dignity. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people's needs and keep them safe.

Right culture

People were supported by staff who understood best practice in relation to the wide range of strengths, impairments or sensitivities people with a learning disability and/or autistic people may have. This meant people received compassionate and empowering care that was tailored to their needs. The registered manager had an effective quality assurance system in place. Regular audits and checks were completed. These were used to identify relevant action and lessons learnt. People, relatives, staff and professionals were offered opportunities to provide feedback about the care provided at the home. Staff were safely recruited and received an induction followed by training from the provider.

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

The last rating for this service was good (published 7 March 2018)

Why we inspected

This inspection was undertaken due to the age of the previous rating. We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Brentwood on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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