Archived: Northleigh

Updated 5 August 2017

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 27 June 2017. The inspection was unannounced and was undertaken by one inspector.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. The provider returned the PIR and we took this into account when we made judgements in this report.

We reviewed the information we held about the service, including statutory notifications that the provider had sent us. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.

During our inspection we spoke with four people, one relative, three care staff, the deputy manager and the temporary manager.

We spent some time observing care to help us understand the experience of people who lived in the home.

We looked at care plan documentation relating to four people, and three staff files. We also looked at other information related to the running of and the quality of the service. This included quality assurance audits, maintenance schedules, training information for care staff, staff duty rotas, meeting minutes and arrangements for managing complaints.

Updated 5 August 2017

Northleigh is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 12 people, who have learning disabilities or who are on the autistic spectrum. There were 10 people living at the home at the time of this inspection.

At the last inspection in May 2016, the provider was in breach of two regulations relating to dignity and respect and good governance. At this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements had been made and sustained.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection; however the registered manager was on a period of long term absence from the home. The provider had ensured that an appropriate registered manager from another service was in place and responsible for the day to day running of the home.

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 had care plans that were personalised to their individual needs and wishes. Records contained detailed information to assist care workers to provide care and support in a person centred approach that respected each person's individual requirements and promoted treating people with dignity and respect.

Care records contained risk assessments and risk management plans to protect people from identified risks and helped to keep them safe but also enabled positive risk taking. They gave information for staff on the identified risk and informed staff on the measures to take to minimise any risks.

People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed. Records showed that medicines were obtained, stored, administered and disposed of safely. People were supported to maintain good health and had access to healthcare services when needed.

Staff understood the need to protect people from harm and knew what action they should take if they had any concerns. There were formal systems in place to assess people’s capacity for decision making under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

Staffing levels ensured that people received the support they required safely and at the times they needed. The recruitment practice protected people from being cared for by staff that were unsuitable to work in the home.

People received care from staff that were compassionate, friendly and kind. Staff had the skills and knowledge to provide the care and support people needed and were supported by a management team which was receptive to ideas and committed to providing a high standard of care.

People and staff were confident in the temporary management structure of the home and felt listened to and supported. People and staff were able to provide feedback and this was acted on and improvements were made. The service had audits and quality monitoring systems in place which ensured people received good quality care that enhanced their life. Policies and procedures were in place which reflected the care provided at the home.