Archived: 7-9 Third Avenue

Updated 29 December 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. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

7-9 Third Avenue 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. 7-9 Third Avenue 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 provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. However, the provider had submitted an application for a member of the management team to become registered. We are currently assessing this application.

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. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 1 person who used the service and 5 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 6 members of staff including the manager and support workers. We spent time observing people’s care to understand the experiences of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people’s care records and 2 people’s medicines records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision and variety of records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 29 December 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.

About the service

7-9 Third Avenue is a small care home providing care and support to people with a learning disability and autistic people. The property is a 6 bedroomed bungalow and there were 6 people living at the service at the time of the inspection.

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

Right Support:

The provider did not always ensure people were supported to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence. People’s care plans and daily records lacked information about how staff supported people to engage with meaningful activities and achieve goals.

Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their safety and achieved the best possible health outcome. Staff supported people to maintain their health and wellbeing.

Right Care:

The provider had not always promoted opportunities for people to try new activities that enhanced and enriched their lives.

Staff had not always received specialised training to understand people’s individual communication methods. However, staff were able to tell us how people liked to interact and the methods they used to communicate.

Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it.

The service had enough staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. People received consistent care from staff who knew them well.

Right Culture:

The culture of the service was not always positive and staff did not always understand best practice in relation to the wide range of strengths and needs people with a learning disability and autistic people may have.

The provider did not always have effective oversight over the quality and safety of the care people received.

People and those important to them, were not always actively involved in planning and reviewing their care.

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 rating for this service was good (published 02 August 2017).

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to assess whether the service was applying the principles of right support, right care, right culture.

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.

This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions of Safe, Responsive and Well-led. 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 good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for 7-9 Third Avenue on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to the management of safety and oversight of the service at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.