Orchard Cottage

About the service

Orchard Cottage is an adapted residential care home providing personal care for up to 3 people. The service is registered to provide support to younger adults with a learning disability and/or autistic people who may have care needs around their physical disability or sensory impairment. At the time of the inspection 3 people were living at Orchard Cottage.

The service had been developed and designed specifically for the individuals living there. The premises consisted of a bungalow with a communal kitchen and flat for 1 person, which had a lounge and large bedroom with ensuite's facilities. To the rear of the property, an annex was built which included 2 separate flats, consisting of an open plan lounge, kitchen and dining area and large bedrooms with en- suite facilities. They had two garden areas; one was specifically for a person who required their private space.

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

Right Support: People had received excellent care responsive to their needs. Care plans were individualised, including wishes and preferences. People and relatives were included and involved in planning personalised care. Outstanding results were achieved for people both socially and for their health needs. Risks to people were well managed through in-depth risk assessments inclusive of health conditions. Activities were individualised and meaningful to people, excellent outcomes were achieved to prevent social isolation. People received support by well trained staff, who had specific training to meet individual needs. The service had their own positive behaviour support team who were dedicated to achieve good outcomes for people. 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.

Right Care: People were cared for in the right way by staff who were kind and compassionate. We observed kind interactions by staff who knew people well. Relatives we spoke with, spoke highly of the staff and felt their loved ones were well treated, always putting their needs first. People were encouraged to remain independent and were given a choice about the care they received daily. Communication needs were explored on a personalised level to ensure this was possible. Staff were able to tell us how people preferred to communicate and had specific skill sets, such as Makaton and British sign language training.

Right Culture:

The registered manager, deputy manager and provider were visible and supportive to both people and staff. The culture of the service was friendly, open and transparent where people's and staff voices were listened to in order to continually improve the quality of care. Staff spoke highly about the registered and deputy manager and felt supported within their roles. Relatives felt leaders were inclusive and supportive at all levels to ensure both them and the person living at the service was included and empowered.

Quality assurance systems were in place to have oversight at the service. When needed actions were taken and improvements were made. The registered manager understood their regulatory responsibilities and worked in partnership with others to continually improve the service.

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 10 October 2020 and this is the first inspection.

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.

Follow up

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