Meylan House

Updated 16 June 2023

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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection, we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

Meylan 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. Meylan 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 was a registered manager 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 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 2 people who used the service and contacted 4 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 9 members of staff including the registered manager, assistant regional director, positive behaviour practitioner and care staff. We observed the interaction between people and staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 2 people’s care records and 4 people's medication records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 16 June 2023

About the service

Meylan House is a residential care home registered to provide personal care and accommodation to up to 7 people. At the time of inspection 5 people were living at Meylan House.

The site comprises of a 6-bedded building and a 1-bedroomed independent annex in the property’s garden equipped with a living/kitchen area and bathroom.

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:

Risks to people were assessed and mitigating strategies implemented. People had detailed care plans to ensure staff had the information required to support them safely.

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 service had policies and systems to support this.

The provider made reasonable adjustments for people so they could be fully involved in discussions about how they received support, including support to travel wherever they needed to go.

Staff were recruited safely and were supported within their roles. People were protected against abuse.

Right Care:

People were supported by staff who knew them well and who had the relevant training and skills to meet their individual needs.

Staff did everything they could to avoid restraining people. The service recorded when staff restrained people, and staff learned from those incidents and how they might be avoided or reduced.

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs.

People were supported to maintain relationships. Staff supported people to stay in contact with friends and family and involved any significant people in the care planning process as appropriate.

Right Culture:

Some improvements were required to ensure the registered manager and provider had good oversight of the service. Some systems and processes were ineffective in identifying missing or conflicting information. The registered manager immediately implemented changes and new systems.

Staff felt valued and empowered to suggest improvements and question poor practice. Staff told us they were confident to raise concerns and complaints.

Staff turnover was very low, which supported people to receive consistent care from staff who knew them well.

People were supported by staff who understood best practice in relation to the wide range of strengths, impairments or sensitivities people with a learning disability and/or autistic people may have. This meant people received compassionate and empowering care that was tailored to their needs.

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 requires improvement (published 11 June 2021).

At our last inspection we recommended the provider referred to best practice guidance on infection control and supporting people who may display behaviour that may challenge. At this inspection we found the provider had made improvements.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, caring 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 has changed from requires improvement to 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.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Meylan 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.