5 August 2022
During an inspection looking at part of the service
About the service
The Beach is a is a residential care home that provides personal care and support for up to 14 autistic people, people with a learning disability or both. At the time of the inspection there were 11 people living at the service.
The service is a two-storey block of flats with a communal area, located overlooking Porth beach in Newquay. The service is part of Spectrum (Devon and Cornwall Autistic Community Trust) which has several services in Cornwall providing care and support for autistic people and/or people with a learning disability.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
This was a targeted inspection that considered staffing levels and the impact on people’s experiences. Based on our inspection of staffing we found the following.
Right Support:
Due to low staffing numbers people were not supported to have the maximum possible choice, control and to be independent. People did not consistently have control over their own lives.
Right Care:
The service did not have enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and provide person-centred care in line with people’s preferences.
Right Culture:
Staff did not always know and understood people’s needs. There was a high level of agency staff which meant people did not always receive consistent care from staff who knew them well.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 9 August 2022). Following the inspection, we issued a warning notice requiring the provider to become compliant with the regulations by 19 July 2022.
At this inspection we found the provider remained in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We undertook this targeted inspection to check whether the Warning Notice we previously served in relation to Regulation 18 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 had been met. The overall rating for the service has not changed following this targeted inspection and remains requires improvement.
We use targeted inspections to follow up on Warning Notices or to check concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection. This is because they do not assess all areas of a key question.
Enforcement and Recommendations
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.
We have identified a continued breach in relation to staffing.
Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.
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.