Felbrigg House

Updated 16 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.

Inspection team

One inspector carried out the inspection.

Service and service type

Felbrigg House 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. Felbrigg House 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 a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. 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 all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We communicated verbally and nonverbally 5 people. We spoke with 6 members of staff including,

registered manager, deputy manager, and 4 support workers. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records, including 4 peoples care and support plans, multiple medicine records and records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection we sought feedback from relatives and visiting professionals.

Updated 16 March 2023

About the service

Felbrigg House is registered to provide personal care and accommodation for up to 11 people in one adapted building. There were 11 people using the service at the time of our inspection who had a range of health and support needs, these included learning disabilities. Some people had additional conditions such as sensory impairment, epilepsy and autism.

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.

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

Right Support:

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.

People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them as staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs.

Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcome. Staff supported people to play an active role in maintaining their own health and wellbeing.

Staff and people cooperated to assess risks people might face. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.

Right Care:

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people's privacy and dignity. Staff understood and responded to their individual needs

People's care, treatment and support plans reflected their range of needs and this promoted their individuality, wellbeing and enjoyment of life. People could take part in activities of their choosing at the service or in the wider community and pursue their own interests. Staff received training and support to provide care effectively.

People were provided with meals and drinks to maintain their wellbeing. People were supported by health care professionals who worked in partnership with the service to maintain people's health and wellbeing. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it.

Right Culture:

People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff. Staff placed people's wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. The stable management and core staff team supported people to receive consistent care from staff who knew them well. People received compassionate and empowering care which was tailored to their needs.

Staff evaluated the quality of support provided to people, involving the person, their families and other professionals as appropriate. All the relative we had contact with were complimentary and positive about the service and the care and support their loved ones received.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published on 24 August 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

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 Felbrigg House 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.