Grandsmere Place

Grandsmere Place is care home for people with a learning disability and is located in the Manor Heath area of Halifax, West Yorkshire. The home is operated by Bridgewood Trust Limited and is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to accommodate up to seven people. There were four people living at the home at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes.

The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

People told us they felt safe using the service and staff displayed good knowledge about how to protect people from the risk of harm. People received their medicines as prescribed and staff were trained in how to give medication safely. Appropriate staff recruitment checks were carried out and there were detailed risk assessments in place regarding the support people received.

People received the support they needed to eat and drink and were involved with shopping and creating menus which contained their favourite foods. Staff told us they were happy with the level of training, support and supervision available to develop them in their roles.

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 received positive feedback from everybody we spoke with about the care and support provided at Grandsmere Place. People said they felt treated with dignity and respect and staff promoted their independence as required.

Appropriate systems were in place to manage complaints, although none had been made. A number of compliments had been received by the service. People’s care plans were detailed and contained lots of person centred information about their routines, preferences and things people enjoyed doing. People were able to access the community independently if they were able, although staff supported some people to participate in activities of their choice as needed.

Grandsmere Place had a small staff team who had worked with people living at the home for a number of years. Feedback about management and leadership was very positive and there were opportunities for staff to discuss their work at monthly staff meetings.

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 inspection at Grandsmere Place was in May 2017. The overall rating was Good.

Why we inspected:

This was a routine comprehensive inspection and in line with our timescales for re-inspecting services previously rated Good.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor information and intelligence we receive about the service to ensure good quality care is provided to people. We will return to re-inspect in line with our inspection timescales, however, if any information of concern is received, we may inspect sooner.

Grandsmere Place provides accommodation and support to people who have a learning disability. It is part of the Bridgewood Trust organisation; a voluntary organisation providing a range of services for people with learning disabilities in the Kirklees and Calderdale area of West Yorkshire.

The service had a registered manager, although they were on leave at the time of the inspection. 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.’

Staff knew how to support people to stay safe and there was encouragement for people to manage their own risks safely. Staff had a confident knowledge of safeguarding and how to ensure people were protected from abuse.

There was appropriate support for staff and they reported feeling supported by the registered manager.

People received their medicines when they needed them and systems for managing medicines were well organised.

Staff were caring and dedicated to their work, with a good knowledge of people’s individual needs. People were involved and included in all aspects of their care and support. Staff were respectful and there was evidence of good relationships with people.

Care was person centred with people’s needs and preferences central to the running of the home. Staff were mindful this was people’s home and showed respect for their privacy.

Staff clearly knew each person well and their unique preferences, with many opportunities for people to pursue their hobbies and interests.

People knew how to complain and there was access to independent advocacy if required. No complaints had been received, only compliments about the service.

Care and support plans showed evidence of regular reviews and people knew these were available for them to look at when they wished to.

Documentation to illustrate the practice in the home was up to date, well organised and filed securely.

The home was well run and people who lived there were supported to lead independent lives.

The service was last inspected in November 2013 and was fully compliant with the outcome areas that were inspected against.

Grandsmere Place provides accommodation and support to people who have a learning disability. It is part of the Bridgewood Trust organisation; a voluntary organisation providing a range of services for people with learning disabilities in the Kirklees and Calderdale area of West Yorkshire.

The service had a registered manager in place at the time of our inspection. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were encouraged to make independent decisions. However the service did not always work in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. We recommend the provider consults relevant guidance on the Mental Capacity Act to ensure it acts within the legal framework and principles of the Act.

We had concerns around the management of people’s epilepsy. We found people did not always have related risk assessments and staff had not always been trained in how to support people in case of a seizure.

Other risks had been fully assessed and documented which meant staff were directed how to support people and minimise risk where possible.

Staff had completed all their mandatory training and were observed to check their level of competency. Staff demonstrated their skills acquired on training courses.

Staffing was maintained at appropriate levels to provide people with effective support. Staff received professional development through supervision and spot checks to maintain their competency.

People were protected from the risk of abuse as staff had a received training in safeguarding people and had good understanding of their roles and responsibilities if they suspected abuse was happening. The registered manager also shared information with the local authority when appropriate.

People received their medicines as prescribed and the management of medicines promoted people’s safety.

People were protected from the risks of inadequate nutrition. Specialist diets were provided and followed when needed. Referrals were made to health care professionals when needed.

People’s care records were holistic and person-centred to ensure people received support in a planned and responsive way. People who used the service or their relative were encouraged to contribute to the planning of care packages.

People had regular and unrestricted access to their family and their friends. They also had opportunities to participate in a variety of social and leisure activities to help them lead a fulfilling life.

People benefited from a service which was well led and systems were in place to monitor the quality of service provision.

People living at the service felt they could report any concerns to the management team and would be taken seriously.

We found one breach of the Health and Social Care Act (2008) Regulated Activities Regulations 2014. You can see what action we asked the provider to take at the back of this report.

People said staff supported their independence and encouraged them to take responsibility for their own daily living.

People who used the service told us they had given consent to their care and treatment.

We saw that staff responded appropriately to people when they needed support. This meant staff were respectful towards people who used the service. One staff member who although not permanently based at Grandsmere told us that it always felt like a family home and we were given that impression during our inspection.

We saw that policies and procedures were in place in relation to service user participation and safeguarding.

We saw evidence that showed staff were provided with regular formal supervision and appraisal. Staff told us they were supported by management who enabled and encouraged them to access appropriate training for their respective roles.

The provider showed effective processes to monitor and assess the quality of service on a regular basis. The quality of service was assessed by means of monthly internal audits and a service user feedback questionnaire in conjunction with regular residents meetings.

We observed support staff were friendly towards people and enabled them to be as independent as possible, i.e. making their own drinks and using the telephone. One support worker told us that working at Grandsmere place was like a family home and we were given that impression during our inspection.

We observed people had access to nutritious food and were involved in planning what to eat. One person told us there was always a choice and they were given the types of food they enjoyed.

We saw from the care records we looked at that care was delivered as written in the care plans and they were up to date. This was also confirmed by the people we spoke with.