Ivy View

Updated 1 June 2022

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

Two inspectors carried out the inspection.

Service and service type

Ivy View is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

What we did before inspection

We looked at all the information we had received about and from the home. We sought feedback from Commissioners of the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

During the inspection

Two inspectors visited Ivy View on 13 April 2022. We looked around the home and observed staff supporting the person. We met with the one person who used the service and spoke with one relative about their experience of the care provided. The person who used the service was unable to verbally communicate with us. We observed this person, including their body language and interactions with their staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included the person’s care records, medication records and a variety of records relating to the management of the service including policies and procedures.

We spoke with four members of staff and the registered manager. The lead inspector spoke with the registered manager by videoconference about the governance of the home on 26 April 2022.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 1 June 2022

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.

About the service

Ivy View is a residential care home providing personal care to one person. The home provides a service to a person who has a learning disability.

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

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the principles of right support, right care, right culture.

Right Support

Staff supported the person to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence and to be in control over their own lives; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The person received personalised care and support which was completely built around their needs and preferences. The person had their own small staff team who they knew and trusted. We were told that the service was specifically set up for the person who lived at the property.

There was a core team of staff who had worked at the home for a number of years and knew the person well. The person was supported to be involved in all decisions about their care and support. Staff supported the person to make choices and communicated with the person in ways that met their needs.

Staff focused on the persons strengths and promoted what they could do, so the person had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life.

The person was supported in ways that reduced periods of distress. The person was clearly relaxed with staff and reassured by their presence.

Staff supported the person to take part in home based activities and pursue interests in their local area if they enjoyed this. Staff told us that prior to the pandemic, the person attended and enjoyed a number of community activities but due to the restrictions associated with the pandemic, the person was not currently attending these. The registered manager advised that this will be reviewed.

Staff enabled the person to access specialist health and social care support in the community.

Staff supported the person safely with their medicines and worked with health professionals to achieve good health outcomes. Staff worked with other professionals to avoid the person taking unnecessary medicines.

Infection control procedures and measures were in place to protect the person from infection control risks associated with COVID-19.

Right Care

The person received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected the persons privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs. Throughout the inspection we saw kind, relaxed, compassionate and caring interactions between the person and staff. We observed that staff were respectful of the person and took time to offer support and reassurance when needed.

Staff understood how to protect the person from poor care and abuse. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it.

There were enough staff to meet the persons needs. Staff understood and anticipated the person’s needs which contributed to a calm atmosphere at the home.

The person could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs.

The persons care and support plan reflected their range of needs and this promoted their wellbeing and enjoyment of life.

The person could take part in activities and pursue interests that were tailored to them.

Right culture

The staff were committed to ensuring the person was leading the life the person wanted and placed the persons wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. Staff told us that they “Help [the person] to have a nice day, what ever [the person] feels like doing. Helping [the person] be as proactive as possible.”

The person received kind and compassionate care from staff who were calm, and attentive to the person’s emotions and support needs. A relative spoke positively about the persons staff and commented that “[The person] appreciates their calmness.”

The person was treated with dignity, respect and care. Although staffing levels were high, staff appreciated that this could be intrusive and worked in ways that enabled the person to have safe time alone when needed.

Staff empowered the person to make their own decisions about their care and support. Where the person was assessed as lacking capacity to make a decision, the service was working within the principles of the MCA with best interest processes followed and recorded. Applications had been made for the person to be deprived of their liberty where they needed this level of protection to keep them safe. The person did not have access to all the areas of their home. Whilst these restrictions were not reflected in the person’s DOL’s, during the inspection the registered manager reviewed these restrictions and a Mental Capacity Assessment and Best Interest decision put in place.

The person, and those important to them, were involved in planning their care. Staff discussed how the person expressed themselves when they were unhappy. This was through informal means such as becoming agitated or distressed. Staff also reflected on the persons preferences when considering the quality of support they provided. This meant the persons views were considered when planning for the service. The persons relative told us they felt fully involved.

The person’s quality of life was enhanced by the staff team’s commitment to ensuring a respectful and inclusive culture. Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the care and support the person received.

Staff felt respected, supported and valued by senior staff which supported a positive and improvement-driven culture.

The staff, registered manager and home leader were open and transparent throughout our inspection. The registered manager and home leader acted efficiently on queries and feedback throughout the inspection.

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

This service was registered with us on 11 August 2020 and this is the first inspection under this legal entity.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for the service under the previous legal entity was Good, published on 24 May 2019.

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of Right support right care right culture.

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.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.