Archived: 4 Claremont Road

Updated 30 April 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team: The inspection was conducted by two inspectors

Service and service type: 4 Claremont Road is a care home for people with learning disabilities. People in care homes receive accommodation and personal care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, both were looked at during this inspection.

Notice of inspection: This inspection was unannounced.

What we did: We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as abuse; and we sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We assessed the information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection we spoke to three people who used the service, two relatives, two care workers, the registered manager, the deputy manager and a volunteer.

We did not use a Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI), as people using the service were able to communicate their experiences to us. SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk to us.

We looked at the care support records for 4 people who used the service and we also reviewed parts of other records for other people. This included people’s medicines administration records, accidents and incident logs, 3 staff recruitment files and training records. We also reviewed quality assurance audits and policies and procedures, surveys from staff, people and relatives.

Updated 30 April 2019

About the service:

4 Claremont Road is a residential care home that provides personal care for people with a learning disability. It is suitable for up to 12 people from 18 years and over. There were 12 people in the home at the time of the inspection.

The accommodation was in a large house with several communal areas and a large garden. The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

Peoples experience of the service:

There was a warm friendly atmosphere. The registered manager was very person-centred and staff had an exceptional understanding of people’s individual needs. A range of activities were on offer to ensure the variety of opportunities reflected people’s interests and were inclusive within the local community.

People received safe care. Staff were aware of their responsibility to keep people safe. Risks were assessed and managed to reflect people's current needs. Staff received appropriate training and sufficient numbers of staff were deployed to meet people’s needs. People and their relatives were exceptionally positive about the staff and management team. Staff were proud to work at the service.

People received extremely good care that was effective for their needs. People were supported to eat and drink, by staff who were knowledgeable and suitably trained. There was a strong emphasis to ensure people receive sufficient food and drinks of their choice.

People's healthcare needs were monitored to ensure their day to day requirements were met. The

service involved people in decisions about their care. People used equipment and technology to ensure they could do things independently. The environment was clean and well maintained.

There was a strong person-centred culture throughout the service and staff provided caring and compassionate support. People were extremely positive about the caring nature of staff. People were treated with dignity and respect and their choices and preferences were respected. Care was tailored to meet individual needs. People were supported without exception to lead meaningful and independent lives. Information was provided in formats that were accessible to people. Complaints and concerns were comprehensively recorded and fully investigated with lessons learned and action taken appropriately.

The service was extremely well led, with a clear focus on person centred care, which empowered people and their relatives to make decisions about their care. Care planning involved people and their families, to make their wishes known and enabled them to be as independent as possible. The quality assurance systems in place effectively monitored the service. The registered manager responded positively to change and was proactive in improving the service. Staff were well supported. The management team put people at the heart of what they did and were well supported by the provider to deliver an exceptional service.

Safe recruitment was followed to ensure the staff employed were suitable to care for people and shared the culture of the service. People received their medicine as prescribed and this was administered by staff who were competent. The provider was following relevant guidance for infection control.

Systems were in place to monitor accidents and incidents to identify any lessons learned and make improvements where required.

The service was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA). People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. Policies and systems were in place to support this practice.

There was a registered manager in post who was available throughout the inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Rating at last inspection:

The service was last inspected on 17 November 2016 and was rated Good.

Why we inspect:

This inspection tool place on 20 February 2019 and was an unannounced, planned, comprehensive inspection.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk