Highview House

Updated 23 December 2023

The inspection

This was a targeted inspection to check on a concern we had received about closed cultures and the use of blanket restrictions at the service.

Inspection team

An inspector, an operations manager and senior specialist carried out this inspection.

Service and service type

Highview House 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. Highview House 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 were 2 registered managers in post.

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 sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 6 people about their experience of the care provided. We reviewed a range of records. This included 8 people's care records. We spoke with 5 members of staff, including the registered managers, nominated individual and support staff. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

Updated 23 December 2023

About the service

Highview House is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 8 people. The service provides support to autistic people and people with learning disabilities who have a forensic history. At the time of our inspection there were 7 people using 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.

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

Right Support

People received exceptional support from dedicated, highly motivated and compassionate staff. Staff fully understood people's needs and wishes and supported them to achieve their goals. Staff knew people extremely well and supported them to improve their independence and quality of life.

The service had received Autism Accreditation by the National Autistic Society, which is an autism-specific quality assurance programme. This accreditation recognised that the service had achieved a standard of excellence and followed a framework for continuous self-examination and development. This was an outstanding achievement.

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 who used the service told us the care was exceptional and they were at the absolute centre of everything the provider and staff did. They received extremely compassionate care which exceeded expectations. Staff valued people as individuals and consistently promoted and protected their human rights.

The provider went far beyond what was required in terms of staff induction and training, for the benefit of people who used the service. This gave staff an excellent understanding of people's needs. Staff understood how to keep people safe and promoted positive risk-taking where appropriate. Staff were remarkable at supporting people to express their views. Staff used a variety of tools to communicate with people according to their individual needs.

Right Culture

The leadership of this service was exceptional and distinctive. Highview House was a truly unique service as the provider and staff team were fully committed to delivering excellence in research-based practice. Staff promoted people's independence, supported them with educational opportunities and meaningful activities, and enabled them to live their best lives possible. People said it was the best place they had ever lived, and their lives had been completely transformed as a result.

The registered managers led by example and were open about the high expectations they had of all the staff team. The staff were valued by the provider and leadership team, and they were recognised for their achievements. Staff were extremely complimentary about the support they received from the management team and how well they were treated as employees. The provider and staff team had won and been nominated for numerous social care awards.

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 outstanding (published 27 February 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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 undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led only. However, we identified exceptional practices in terms of how people were treated with dignity and respect, so a decision was made to also include the key question of caring.

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 outstanding. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Highview House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.