135 Norman Road

Updated 3 August 2023

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

This inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and Service Type

135 Norman Road is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. 135 Norman Road is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

Inspection activity started on 27 June 2023 and ended on 20 July 2023 We visited the service on 27 June 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager. We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people's care plans and risk assessments, 3 peoples medicine administration records (MAR charts), 6 recruitment records and 2 quality audits, staffing rotas, accident and incident records and safeguarding records. We also checked the providers had key policies and procedures in place to help guide staff.

We spoke with 1 person who used the service and 2 family members about their experience of the care provided. We also received feedback about the service from 4 members of staff, which included the registered manager and care staff.

Updated 3 August 2023

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. We considered this guidance as there were people using the service who have a learning disability and or who are autistic.

About the service

135 Norman Road is a residential 'care home' providing personal care and support for people living with learning disabilities, autistic spectrum disorder and mental health. The service accommodates a maximum of 3 people. At the time of our inspection, there were 3 people living in the home. People using the service had been living at the home for many years. The staff team had been working at the home for some time and everyone knew each other well.

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

Right Support:

Staff assisted people to take part in activities and hobbies in their local area. The service ensured that there were suitable amount of trained and skilled staff working at the service to meet people's individual needs. The provider carried out employment checks to ensure that staff were recruited safely and had the right skill mix to support people who lived at the home.

People told us that they had a choice about their living environment and were able to personalise their rooms. The service made reasonable adjustments for people so they could be involved in making discussions about how they received their everyday support.

The provider ensured that measures were in place to help prevent the spread of infections. We found that medicines were managed in a person centred and safe way and staff ensured that people received regular medicines reviews by their health professionals.

People who used the service 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.

Right Care:

People told us that they felt staff treated them with kindness and their privacy was respected by staff. Staff were able to demonstrate how they protect people from poor care and abuse. The service was clear on their responsibility to work with other agencies to ensure people were safe. Staff received the appropriate training on how to recognise and report abuse.

People communication needs were being met and staff understood each person’s communication style. People’s care and support was recorded in their support plans, which reflected their support needs and promoted their wellbeing and quality of life.

The service assisted people to complete their risk assessments, which helped to ensure people were safe. Staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.

We identified that the communal areas were in needs of some decoration. We made a recommendation in this area.

Right Culture:

We found that people received good care and support as staff were trained to ensure that the service could meet their needs and wishes.

The service carried out a range of audits to ensure a good quality service was provided. Staff understood people's needs well. This enabled people to receive a good service, which empowered people and the care was tailored to their individual support needs.

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

Rating at last inspection

We last inspected this service on 16 December 2019, where it was rated 'good' overall.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for 135 Norman Road 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.