19 August 2020
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Blackdown House is a detached bungalow situated in the extensive grounds of Somerset Court which is owned by the provider. The home accommodates 12 people who have autism and complex support needs. At the time of the inspection five people were living at the home.
The service had not originally been developed and designed in line with the Registering the Right Support guidance. This was because there were five other registered care homes set in the grounds of Somerset Court in close proximity to Blackdown House. The Registering the Right Support Guidance was implemented in 2017 after the service had registered with us. The registered manager had since personalised the service to reflect the Registering the Right Support Guidance.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were supported by staff who had a very good understanding of managing risk safely. Records provided staff with clear guidance on how to manage specific risks identified. Staff were kept informed of changes to people’s risk assessments.
Specific risk assessments had been put in place to support people during the Covid 19 lock down, and for managing the return to socialising in the wider community safely.
People were protected by robust infection control policies and procedures. Staff had received training in infection control and the correct use of personal protective equipment [PPE]. Staff had taken into consideration the affect wearing PPE might have on people living in the home.
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.
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 10 September 2018).
Why we inspected
We undertook this targeted inspection to check on a specific concern we had about a choking incident. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. The information CQC received about the incident investigation indicated concerns about the management of choking. This inspection examined those risks and the management of health-related risks.
We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe sections of this full report.
The overall rating for the service has not changed following this targeted inspection and remains good.
CQC have introduced targeted inspections to follow up on Warning Notices or to check specific concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection. This is because they do not assess all areas of a key question.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Blackdown House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.