39a Castle Road

Updated 17 November 2021

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

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Service and service type

39a Castle Road 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 registered 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

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and the person who lives there is often out, and we wanted to be sure they would be at home when we inspected.

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. We 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 the person who lived in the home and observed how staff interacted with them. We also spoke with the registered manager, the provider’s regional service lead and three members of staff. We looked around the accommodation provided. We reviewed the care records for the person who lived at the home.

We spoke by telephone to the relatives of the person who lived in the home to gather their views of the service. We also contacted two members of staff and three health care professionals to gather their views.

After the inspection

We looked at additional evidence we had asked the registered manager to send us. These included records around staff training and recruitment and records relating to how the service had responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Updated 17 November 2021

About the service

39a Castle Road is a residential care home, providing accommodation and personal care to one person. The service can support one person in a self-contained flat which has an enclosed garden. The building also has a separate entrance leading to offices used by the provider’s managers and staff.

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

The person who lived in the home was safe and protected from the risk of abuse. Risks to their safety had been identified and managed. Staff followed dynamic, positive risk assessments to promote the person’s independence and choices. There were enough staff to support the person and to keep them safe. Staff supported the person to take their medicines safely. The provider had robust infection prevention and control procedures. The provider had systems to ensure lessons were learnt from incidents to further improve the safety of the service.

The registered manager had carried out a thorough assessment of the person’s needs before they were offered accommodation in the home. Staff were trained and skilled to provide high-quality care which met the person’s needs. Staff knew the person’s preferences around meals and drinks and supported them to enjoy a healthy diet. Staff had supported the person to access healthcare services as they needed. The service had been designed and developed to meet the person’s needs.

The person was 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.

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.

The service was meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. The person lived in their own flat and staff supported them to make choices about their life. They received person-centred care and were supported to achieve positive outcomes. The focus of the service was to promote their rights and choices.

Staff treated the person in a respectful, kind and caring way. They worked with the person to support them to gain skills and independence. The staff knew how the person communicated and gave them information to make choices in a way they could understand. The staff respected the decisions the person made about their support.

The registered manager had gathered detailed information about the person, their likes and dislikes. The information gathered was used to develop a detailed support plan to guide staff on how to care for the person. The care plan was reviewed as the person gained skills and independence. Staff supported the person to follow activities they enjoyed and to maintain relationships that were important to them. The provider had a procedure for responding to complaints about the service.

The management team and staff were passionate about providing person-centred care which placed the person at the centre of the service. The management team modelled empowering and person-centred behaviours which staff followed. The person received high-quality, person-centred care that promoted positive outcomes and enhanced their quality of life. The provider understood their responsibilities under the duty of candour and were open with people when incidents occurred in the home. The management team and staff were committed to the continuous improvement of the service. They continually assessed the quality, safety and effectiveness of the service to identify how it could be further improved to promote positive outcomes for the person. Staff worked cooperatively with other services to ensure the person received the care and support they needed.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 28 February 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on our inspection scheduling.

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.

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.