6 Northumberland Road

Updated 1 September 2022

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.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. 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.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

6 Northumberland Road 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. 6 Northumberland Road 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 service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection a manager was in post who was going through the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission.

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. This included the statutory notifications the provider had sent to CQC. A notification includes information about important events which the service is required to send us by law.

The provider had not been asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) since the last inspection in 2021. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with five members of staff. This included the manager, service co-ordinator, clinical nurse advisor and support staff. We spoke with two people who lived at the service and one relative. We also received feedback from a professional who had worked with the service. The views of everyone we spoke with have been incorporated into this report.

We viewed a range of records and documents. This included three people’s care records and medicine records. We were shown online information about staff in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We checked a variety of records relating to the management of the service. This included policies and procedures, quality assurance and health and safety documents.

We spoke with people briefly and observed their experiences during the inspection. We received feedback from four relatives or friends of people who lived at the service. The views of everyone we spoke with have been incorporated into this report.

We considered this information to help us to make a judgement about the service.

Updated 1 September 2022

About the service

6 Northumberland Road is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to up to five people. The service provides support to adults of all ages who have mental health needs. At the time of our inspection there were four people living at the service.

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

People felt safe and were protected from the risk of harm and abuse because the service assessed, monitored and managed this as far as possible. Assessments were kept up to date and guidance helped staff to provide appropriate levels of support.

A new information and pre-admission process had been developed since our last inspection. This ensured people received a more individual approach which met their needs. There were enough staff to support people, and staff were safely recruited.

The environment, equipment and health and safety were regularly checked to ensure these were safe for people who lived at the service. Accidents and incidents were reviewed and lessons learned when necessary.

People were protected from infection. Staff supported people as required to ensure they received their medicines safely and as prescribed.

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.

There had been changes in the staff team, and people and staff were positive about the management of the service. Systems were in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service. Action plans ensured tasks were completed and improvements were shared with the staff team. There was a focus on engaging and involving people, their relatives and staff in the development of 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 and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 17 September 2021) and there were breaches of regulation. 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 improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

At our last inspection we also recommended the provider introduced a robust and effective pre-admission procedure for the service. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and a new procedure was in place and being used.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 10 August 2021. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment and governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check the provider 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 and well-led which contain those requirements.

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 requires improvement to good. 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 6 Northumberland Road 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.