2 February 2023
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Arundel House is a residential care home providing accommodation and support for people who require personal care and are living with mental health needs. One person had a learning disability. It is a large Victorian property spread over 3 floors and has some outside space which is available for people to use. Most people shared communal bathrooms though some people had their own bathroom. There was a communal lounge and separate dining room. The service provides support for up to 15 people. At the time of our inspection there were 13 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were not always kept safe from risks associated with fire.
We were not assured the provider was promoting safety through the hygiene practices for the premises or ensuring infection outbreaks would be effectively prevented or managed.
Risks were not always identified and managed, meaning people were potentially at risk of harm. There was a lack of good governance and oversight of the service. Staff appeared to understand and meet people’s needs and preferences, however, they had not received training about some people’s needs, for example, epilepsy, and learning disability.
Medicines were managed safely despite a lack of audits.
The home facilitated visits from family members and relatives told us staff were welcoming, friendly and helpful.
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. However, the policies and systems in the service were not always in place to support this practice.
People and relatives told us they thought the service was well led, and that they (or their relatives) felt people received safe care and were happy living there.
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people. We considered this guidance as there were people using the service who have a learning disability and or who are autistic.
We have made a recommendation about ongoing DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks in staff recruitment.
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 31 December 2019).
Why we inspected
We received concerns in relation to people’s safety and how well the service was managed. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. As a result of what we found during our site visit, we opened up the inspection to review the key question of effective as well.
The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.
You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
On our first day of inspection, we asked the provider to carry out some urgent actions to ensure people’s safety, for example, removing broken glass from a person’s bedroom and boarding the window safely. They took some action that day to start making improvements.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Arundel House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement
We have identified breaches in relation to the provision of safe care and treatment, adherence to the Mental Capacity Act, and the governance of the service at this inspection.
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.