20 January 2023
During an inspection looking at part of the service
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.
Normanshire Care Services is a residential care home which provides accommodation and personal care to up to 6 adults living with a learning disability or autism. The service is provided in one building across two floors with a garden. At the time of inspection 6 people were using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support
The model of care and the setting maximised people’s choice and control. People had their own bedroom and had access to shared facilities including a garden. People were protected from the risks associated with the spread of infection and were supported to take their medicines safely.
People’s risks were assessed in a person-centred way. Care plans and risk assessments were regularly reviewed and involved relatives and advocates as appropriate. People who may become anxious or distressed had proactive plans in place to reduce the need for restrictive practices.
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.
Right Care
People’s needs were assessed before they began to use the service to ensure the provider could meet those needs. People had care and support plans that were personalised, holistic, strengths-based and reflected their needs and aspirations, included physical and mental health needs.
Relatives confirmed they were included in decision making about their relative’s care. People were supported to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet. Staff involved people in choosing their food and planning their meals. Staff supported people to maintain their health and worked jointly with healthcare professionals to improve outcomes for people.
Right Culture
Management were visible in the service, approachable and took a genuine interest in what people, staff and other professionals had to say. The management team worked directly with people and led by example. Relatives and staff confirmed they would be able to raise concerns to enable improvements to be made to the service. Relatives were asked by the provider about their opinions of the service.
Staff were recruited safely and there were enough staff on duty to meet people’s needs. People were protected from abuse and poor care. The provider supported staff with training and supervision. Training included learning disability and autism so care could be provided effectively.
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 16 September 2021)
At our last inspection we made a recommendation in relation to the referral and assessment of people’s needs. At this inspection we found the provider had taken action on this and improvements had been made.
Why we inspected.
We received concerns in relation to the general care and safety of people using the service. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective, and well-led only. 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 remains good based on the findings of this inspection.
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.
We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the safe, effective, and well-led sections of this full report.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.