Archived: Little Sutton Lane

Updated 7 September 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 3 August 2016 and was announced. We gave the registered manager one day notice of our intention to visit. We needed to make sure the registered manager would be available and that people would be at home. The inspection team comprised of one inspector.

As part of the inspection process we looked at the information we already had about this provider. Providers are required to notify the Care Quality Commission about specific events and incidents that occur including serious injuries to people receiving care and any safeguarding matters. These help us to plan our inspection. We contacted the local authorities who purchased the care on behalf of people to ask them for information about the service. We took this into account when we made the judgements in this report.

During our inspection we spoke with one person. Another person was out at the day centre for most of our visit. We spoke with the registered manager, team leader and two care staff. We looked at the care records of two people, the medicine management processes and at records about staffing, training and the quality of the service. We spoke on the telephone with the relatives of two people to seek their views of the service. We also received information from a health care professional.

Updated 7 September 2016

This inspection took place on 3 August 2016 and was announced. We last inspected the service in July 2015. The service was assessed as good but we identified a breach in the regulations in regards to the provider’s systems for auditing the quality of the service. At this inspection we found this had been rectified.

The service is registered to provide care for up to four people who have a learning disability. Two people lived there at the time of our inspection. A registered manager was in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People who used the service and their relatives told us that the home was safe. We observed people looking relaxed and at ease within the home, and with the staff who were supporting them. Staff were aware of the need to keep people safe and they knew how to report allegations or suspicions of poor practice. People received their medication safely.

There were sufficient appropriately trained, skilled and supervised staff and they received opportunities to further develop their skills.

The registered manager had approached the appropriate authority when it was felt that there was a risk people were being supported in a way which could restrict their freedom. Staff had been provided with training about the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) but not all staff were aware that Deprivation of Liberty applications had been submitted.

People were supported to maintain good health and to access appropriate support from health professionals where needed. People were supported to have food that they enjoyed and meal times were flexible to meet people's needs.

People told us that they were happy at this home and this was confirmed by people's relatives. We observed caring staff practice, and staff we spoke with demonstrated a positive regard for the people they were supporting. People and, where appropriate, their relatives, were consulted about their preferences and people were treated with dignity and respect. People’s needs had been assessed and care plans developed to inform staff how to support people appropriately.

There were systems in place if people wished to make a complaint. The registered manager was aware of his responsibilities and had the skills and experience required to enable them to effectively lead this service.