Richmond House

Updated 18 January 2022

Richmond House is a community hospital for up to eight people with a primary diagnosis of a learning disability and associated mental health problems. It provides assessment, treatment and rehabilitation for female people; with a mild to moderate learning disability.

The service is owned by Priory Healthcare Limited and is one of a number of services they provide throughout the country. Richmond House has been registered with CQC since 2010 to carry out the following legally regulated activities:

• Treatment of disease, disorder or injury
• Assessment or medical treatment for persons detained under the 1983 Act.

The manager has been registered with CQC since October 2016.

The service was most recently inspected in July 2018 and was rated as good overall. CQC did not identify any areas for improvement.

What people who use the service say

We spoke with six people who use services and four carers.

Peoples’ comments about the hospital were overall positive, they said they felt safe. People told us they were supported to eat healthily and lead healthier lives. They took turns choosing meals and prepared them.

People told us they could access a wide range of activities that included for example, cooking, going for walks, arts, shopping and sewing. People told us they liked to spend time with the pet rabbit.

People told us they got on well with the staff. They said they were, kind, helpful, and they listened. Staff helped support people to make their own decisions and spent time talking with them.

Carers told us they felt their relatives were safe and were pleased with the care their relatives received. Staff had spoken to them and given them information about the care and treatment of their relatives and were given the opportunity to be involved. They were aware of discharge plans and felt that relatives were given opportunities to participate in the wider community.

Updated 18 January 2022

Updated 18 January 2022

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.

The service was able to show how they met the principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and staff ensured that people using the service lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives.

The needs and safety of people formed the basis of the culture at the service. Staff understood their role in making sure that people were always put first. They provided care that was genuinely person centred.

The leadership of the service had worked hard to create a learning culture. Staff felt valued and empowered to suggest improvements and question poor practice. There was a transparent and open and honest culture between people, those important to them, staff and leaders. They felt confident to raise concerns and complaints.

Our rating of this service stayed the same. We rated it as good overall because:

• People’s care and support was provided in a safe, clean, well equipped, well-furnished and well-maintained environment which met people's sensory and physical needs.
• People were protected from abuse and poor care. The service had sufficient, appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe.
• People were supported to be independent and had control over their own lives. Their human rights were upheld.
• People received kind and compassionate care from staff who protected and respected their privacy and dignity and understood each person’s individual needs. People had their communication needs met and information was shared in a way that could be understood.
• People’s risks were assessed regularly and managed safely. People were involved in managing their own risks whenever possible.
• If restrictive practices were used, there was a reporting system in place and there were comprehensive reviews to try and reduce the use of these practices.
• People made choices and took part in activities which were part of their planned care and support. Staff supported them to achieve their goals.
• People’s care, treatment and support plans reflected their sensory, cognitive and functioning needs.
• People received care, support and treatment that met their needs and aspirations. Care focused on people’s quality of life and followed best practice.
• The service provided care, support and treatment from trained staff and specialists able to meet people’s needs. Managers ensured that staff had relevant training, regular supervision and appraisal.
• People and those important to them, including advocates, were actively involved in planning their care. A multidisciplinary team worked well together to provide the planned care.
• Staff understood their roles and responsibilities under the Human Rights Act 1998, Equality Act 2010, Mental Health Act 1983 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
• People were in hospital to receive active, goal oriented treatment. People had clear plans in place to support them to return home or move to a community setting. Staff worked well with services that provide aftercare to ensure people received the right care and support.
• Staff supported people through recognised models of care and treatment for people with a learning disability or autistic people. Leadership was good, and governance processes helped the service to keep people safe, protect their human rights and provide good care, support and treatment.
• Medications were given as a last resort in response to challenging behaviour after other methods had been tried.

However

• Medicine records showed that people were not always receiving their medications as prescribed and where medications were omitted there wasn’t always a reason for omission.
• Staff used audits to monitor the use of medications within the service. However, medications omissions were not being identified as part of these audits and therefore not reported.

Updated 20 July 2016