27 April 2023
During an inspection looking at part of the service
The care home has two floors. The ground floor has become a communal area for younger people and people with a learning disability.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Governance and quality assurance systems had improved since our last inspection. People said they felt safe, and risk assessments were clearly written and reviewed. Medication was administered safely by staff who were trained to do so. Some people were supported and encouraged to administer their own medication where able. Accident and Incident logs had improved since the last inspection, therefore opportunities to mitigate risk were identified.
Infection control prevention was improved, and the home looked and smelled cleaner. There were enough suitably qualified staff to support people, however some people told us they could not always go out and about due to lack of staff.
Safeguarding systems and policies were in place and staff could describe the action they would take if they felt people were at risk of abuse.
People were supported to follow modified diets and had choice and control over what food was served. Staff were undertaking training courses, most staff had been trained, however there were some gaps in staff training records. This was due to new staff starting. Staff had been supervised and appraised.
Staff and people living at the home liked the registered manager and felt they had made good progress since the last inspection. The registered manager understood their duty to share information in an open and honest manner.
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.
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 were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
Right Care: Although we found gaps in the support and culture, staff were very caring in nature and upheld people’s dignity and privacy. Care plans were written respectfully and put the person at the centre of their care.
Right Culture: Although staff and managers had values to support people to lead confident and inclusive lives, the environment of the home made this difficult. Younger people who had a learning disability lived within a care home environment, meaning opportunities for choice and control were limited. It was difficult for staff to meet the needs of everyone, due to a wide range of service user groups, with different sets of guidance for staff to follow.
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
The last rating for this service was inadequate (published 16 November 2022).
Why we inspected
The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found the provider was no longer in breach of regulation.
This service has been in Special Measures since 16 November 2022. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that some improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.
Why we inspected
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements. We also checked whether the Warning Notice we previously served in relation to Regulation 12 and 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 had been met.
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.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from Inadequate to Requires Improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Avalon Care Home 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.