New Dawn

Updated 26 July 2022

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

Day one consisted of two inspectors and one specialist medicine inspector. Day two consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type

New Dawn 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. New Dawn 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

Day one of inspection was unannounced, day two was announced.

Inspection activity started on 05 July 2022 and ended on 08 July 2022. We visited the service on 05 and 08 July 2022.

What we did before the inspection

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. We sourced feedback from the local authority and used information we held about the service on our system, this information was all considered as part of the inspection planning process.

During the inspection

We spoke with ten members of care staff including agency staff, the registered manager and regional manager. We spoke with one person, and observed care provided in communal areas of the service.

We reviewed a range of records, including four people’s care and eight people’s medication records. We looked at staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We spoke with one person's relative by telephone, about their experiences of the care provided. We liaised with the local authority quality assurance team.

Updated 26 July 2022

About the service

New Dawn is a residential care home providing personal care and support to up to 19 people with a learning disability and or autistic people. At the time of our inspection there were 15 people using the service. The service consisted of single storey accommodation, with shared communal spaces and bathing facilities. There was also one person who had a self-contained apartment, with their own allocated staff team.

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

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.

Right support: The standards of care provided, gave people choice and control over their own care and lifestyles. This was supported by consistent levels of staff available to meet people’s assessed needs and risks to enable people to be active members of the local community. People lived in a clean and comfortable care environment. Whilst we identified some areas of improvement needed for people’s medicines management, and have made a recommendation, we were assured by the action taken by the registered manager in response to our feedback.

Right care: Care records reflected people and their relative’s involvement in their development with their individual wishes and preferences being consistently reflected. People’s dignity, privacy and human rights were being upheld. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives, although a recommendation has been made to ensure key decisions are documented. 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 training and competency checks ensured they had the necessary skills, knowledge and expertise to safely meet people’s needs.

Right culture: There was consistent leadership of the service, due to there being a long-standing registered manager in place. The registered manager led the service by example, giving the staff clear expectations of the standards they were to uphold. People were empowered to lead meaningful lives and be part of their local community.

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

This service was registered with us on 01 December 2020 and this is the first inspection. The last rating for the service under the previous provider was Good, published on 26 March 2019.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the provider level oversight of this service, and in response to some incidents that had happened. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

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, which will help inform when we next inspect.