The Conifers

Updated 9 March 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.

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.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of 1 inspector.

Service and service type

The Conifers is a ‘care home’. 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. The Conifers 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 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 not a registered manager in post. A new manager had started in post and had applied to register. We are currently assessing this application.

Notice of inspection The first day of the inspection was announced, however the second and third visits were unannounced. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 9 January 2023 and ended on 31 January 2023. We visited the service on 9, 16 and 28 January 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. This included 5 positive feedback forms received from relatives via our website and feedback from 2 social care professionals. 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 used information gathered as part of a CQC monitoring activity that took place on 28 October 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited at different times of the day, including the weekend, to gain a view of the service’s routines, and to spend time with people living in the service. We met all the people living at the service and spoke with 3 people’s relatives. One person showed us around and introduced us to other people living there. We observed staff interactions with people in the communal areas. We spoke with the provider and 5 members of staff including the manager, deputy manager and support workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people’s care records, medicines records, and risk assessments. We al

Updated 9 March 2023

About the service

The Conifers is a residential care home providing personal care providing support for up to 6 people with a learning disability and autistic people. At the time of the inspection there were 6 people living in the service. The Conifers is a large family bungalow, set in large gardens.

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 had a choice about their living environment and were able to personalise their rooms. One relative described the service as, “Very welcoming, very accommodating, more like a home. As a parent we hunted high and low to find a place like this.”

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. Staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life.

Staff knew how people preferred to take their medicines to achieve best possible health outcomes. People were encouraged to play an active role in maintaining their own health and wellbeing and supported to have access to specialist health and social care support in the community.

We have made a recommendation about weekend staffing levels.

Right Care:

People received kind and compassionate care by staff who knew them well. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to people’s individual needs. A relative told us, “It is clear to see to anyone who visits that the utmost care is taken and everything is done, above and beyond to make the home a loving and warm place to live.”

People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs. People's care, treatment and support plans reflected their range of needs and this promoted their wellbeing and enjoyment of life.

People took part in a range of activities and pursued interests that were tailored to them. Staff provided people with opportunities to try new activities that enhanced and enriched their lives. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.

Right Culture:

The provider and management had a strong visible presence within the service and placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. They had created a culture of learning, opportunity and reflection.

The management enabled people and those important to them to work with staff to develop the service. Staff valued and acted upon people’s views. Relatives spoke about the open and positive culture of the service. One relative wrote to us saying, ‘The Conifers management has always shown a professional attitude and responsibility for the [people] and demonstrates a significant empathy and caring attitude towards them.’

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 4 September 2020 and this is the first inspection. The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good, published on 18 October 2019.

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.