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
The Paddocks is a care home registered to accommodate and support up to 8 people with learning disabilities, autistic people and people with mental health needs. At the time of the inspection, 7 people were living at the home. People living in the home had their own bedrooms and there were shared communal spaces, including lounges, a kitchen and a garden area, all on one floor.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The provider had made improvements following our previous inspection, to make the home safer. Improvements were needed to reporting processes to ensure that accidents and incidents were investigated appropriately. We looked at staff meeting minutes, there was no discussion about people's incidents and accidents or how to prevent any future incidents.
Following the inspection, the provider sent us evidence to indicate they had made changes to improve accident and incidents.
Right Support:
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 home supported this practice. The model of care at The Paddocks maximised people's choice, control and independence.
Staff were committed to supporting people in line with their preferences and supported people to receive their medicines safely and as prescribed. People were supported to access healthcare services to promote their wellbeing and help them to live healthy lives.
Staff managed risks to minimise restrictions, focusing on what people could do for themselves. The home had effective infection, prevention and control measures to keep people safe, including good arrangements for keeping the premises clean and hygienic.
Right Care:
Staff delivered care in line with information in people's care plans and recognised models of care for people with a learning disability or autistic people. This ensured people were receiving care tailored to them which promoted a good quality of life.
Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. Staff recruitment, induction and training processes promoted safety, including those for agency staff. People were supported by staff who had received a wide range of relevant and good quality training to meet their needs.
Right Culture:
There was a positive culture at the home and people benefited from being supported by happy staff and this was reflected in the atmosphere at the home. Staff told us they enjoyed their job and making a positive difference to someone's life. Systems were in place to apologise to people, and those important to them, when things went wrong.
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 29 June 2022) and there were breaches of Regulation 13 (safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment) and Regulation 17 (good governance). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of these regulations.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating and when the service was last inspected.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.
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.
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 remained the same. 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 The Paddocks on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement and Recommendations
We have identified breach in relation to safe care and treatment at this inspection. We have also made a recommendation to follow best practice guidance around quality assurance.
Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
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.