We carried out a review of the data available to us about Walton House on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Walton House, you can give feedback on this service.
About the service
Walton House is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 8 adults with learning disabilities and/or autism. At the time of our inspection there were 7 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support:
Staff supported people to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence. Staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life. People were supported by staff to pursue their interests. Staff supported people to achieve their aspirations and goals.
The service gave people care and support in a safe, clean, well equipped, well-furnished and well-maintained environment that met their sensory and physical needs.
Right Care:
Staff promoted equality and diversity in their support for people. They understood people’s cultural needs and provided culturally appropriate care. People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs. People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs.
Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe.
Right Culture:
People received good quality care, support and treatment because trained staff and specialists could meet their needs and wishes. Staff evaluated the quality of support provided to people. The service enabled people and those important to them to work with staff to develop the service. Staff valued and acted upon people’s views.
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 good (published 31 October 2017).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service and the time since last inspection.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
We found the following examples of good practice.
• Staff supported people to remain in contact with their families, through safe visiting arrangements at the service and video calling facilities. One person was supported to stay with their family during lockdown, and people were supported to stay at their family home for short periods. In order for all involved to stay safe during these visits people were supported to isolate for two weeks prior to going to their family home and two weeks after.
• People were supported to stay safe in the community. They were accompanied by staff and wore PPE exempt badges explaining why they were not wearing masks in the community. People were not using public transport and staff used distraction techniques to support people to socially distance in the community.
• Staff implemented a desensitisation plan to support one person to become more comfortable and reduce their anxieties around staff wearing face masks.
• Staff were accessing weekly testing. They supported people to access monthly testing when people were able to consent to this.
• Staff had incorporated a covid related page into people’s support plan to account for any differences in people’s daily routines and engagement activities due to covid. As well as noting any changes in people’s behaviour due to covid. For example, one person was spending more time with staff and staff felt this was due to some heightened anxieties during this covid pandemic.
• People had individualised behaviour intervention plans in place in regards to isolation. These outlined what type of isolation the person would have should they show signs of or test positive for covid. For example, one person may understand they require isolation in their rooms. For someone else it may not be in their best interest to be isolated in their room so they would have other areas of the service allocated for them to isolate in as well as their room.
• Staff were supporting each other. The management team were quick to identify any changes in staff’s behaviour that may indicate they required further emotional or mental health support.
• When the service required support from agency staff, these staff were given full time hours to reduce the risk of them working across more than one service.
• Clear management processes were in place regarding covid. Including comprehensive infection prevention and control audits, policies and business continuity plans.
Further information is in the detailed findings below.
We undertook an unannounced inspection on 10 October 2017. At our previous inspection on 10 September 2015 we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the service remained good.
A flexible and responsive service was provided. Staff promptly identified signs that a person’s health was deteriorating or there was a change in their needs and provided the level of support the person required. The provider recruited additional staff to account for the changes in a person’s needs and the additional support they required. Staff had recorded changes in people’s behaviour to identify triggers and what was causing a change in a person’s health or causing them distress. Staff worked with people to understand what additional action they needed to take in order to improve their health and therefore improve their independence. Staff encouraged and empowered people to take control of their lives and develop their knowledge and skills, including through participation in activities, attendance at college and through work placements.
Staff continued to protect people from avoidable harm and were aware of safeguarding adults procedures. There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs and safe recruitment practices were followed. Staff continued to assess and identify risks to people’s safety. People received their medicines as prescribed.
Staff completed regular training to ensure they had the knowledge and skills to undertake their duties. Staff continued to support people in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Staff continued to support people to access healthcare services and to eat and drink sufficient amounts to meet their needs.
Staff continued to build friendly, kind and caring relationships with people. Staff knew the people they were supporting and their interest, hobbies and preferences. Staff supported people to develop their verbal communication and staff told us people had become more confident in making their choices known and making decisions about their care.
The registered manager remained in post and adhered to the requirements of their registration with the CQC. There was an open and honest culture at the service and staff, people and relatives were encouraged to express their views and opinions about service delivery. The registered manager continued to adhere to the provider’s procedures to review the quality of service provision and make improvements if required.
Further information is in the detailed findings below.
This inspection took place on 10 September 2015 and was unannounced. At our previous inspection on 16 July 2013 the service was meeting the regulations inspected
Walton House provides accommodation, care and support to up to seven adults with learning disabilities, some of whom have additional specialist needs including autism, physical disabilities, mental health needs and dementia. At the time of our inspection seven people were using the service, many of whom had been living at the service for over eight years.
The service was delivered from a large house, providing people with private bedrooms, access to a number of communal rooms and a large landscaped garden, close to community amenities.
The service has a registered manager. 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.
The service provided met the needs of the people living there. Staff provided people with the support they required with their personal care and encouraged them to develop their skills and independence. People engaged in a number of activities and staff supported people to identify hobbies that interested them. Some people were also supported to participate in college courses and voluntary employment.
Staff supported people to maintain relationships with friends and family, and supported them to visit their loved ones. Staff supported people to celebrate key events in their life.
Staff supported people to maintain their dignity, and spoke to people politely and respectfully. People told us they liked the staff and felt comfortable speaking with them. There were sufficient numbers of staff on duty to provide people with the support they required and enable people to receive one to one support when necessary.
People were kept safe at the service. Staff were aware of the risks to people’s safety at the service and in the community and provided people with the support they required. Some people were subject to the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) to protect them from harm. DoLS ensure people’s liberty is only restricted when it is in the person’s best interest and is required to maintain the person’s safety.
Staff supported people in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and enabled people to make a choice and be involved in decisions about their care. If people were unable to make decisions about certain aspects of their care, support or any treatment they required the registered manager helped organise for best interests meetings to be held.
There were safe medicines management processes at the service and people received their medicines as prescribed. People were supported to access healthcare services and received any support they required to maintain their physical and mental health. The service worked with other health care professionals to ensure they provided people with the support they required. People were supported as necessary with any additional needs they had during mealtimes.
Staff had the skills and knowledge to support people with their individual needs, and they frequently attended training to ensure the support provided was in line with current good practice. The registered manager supported staff to ensure they undertook their role and responsibilities effectively.
The management team checked the quality of service provision and ensured appropriate action was taken when concerns were identified. The service learnt from complaints and incidents to improve the service provided. People’s views and opinions were sought and listened to and improvements were made to the service in line with people’s comments.
One person told us 'we go on nice holidays here and do lots of activities.'
People received the right amount of support to enable them to consent to their care and make decisions and staff clearly understood each person's way of communicating their needs, wishes and choices.
People using the service had personalised support plans, which were current and outlined how they wanted their care and support to be provided. This meant staff had the information they needed to meet people's individual needs.
People told us that they felt safe and could tell staff if they were unhappy about something. One person said, 'I like X (name of staff). I would talk to them if I had a problem.'
Staff we spoke to liked working at Walton House and felt supported by the manager. One told us, 'The home is professional and run very well.'
People were protected from the risks of unsafe or inappropriate care and treatment because accurate and appropriate records were maintained. There were appropriate arrangements in place to manage medicines.
The provider's staff recruitment procedures were thorough and ensured that staff were vetted correctly. This meant that people using the service were protected from unsuitable workers.
The people who spoke with us all gave complimentary feedback. They told us they are treated well, make decisions about the care they receive, and chose how they wanted to spend their time. They told us that they got involved in lots of activities and helped out around the home. People said that they regularly go out and had gone on holidays with their keyworker staff.
People told us what they liked best about Walton House. They told us that they liked living there and got on well with the staff. Comments included, 'it's comfortable' and 'all the people are really nice and we get on really well.'
We saw people were given support to make choices and decisions for themselves' wherever they could do so, and staff clearly understood each person's way of communicating their needs, wishes and choices. People's care records were detailed and up to date so that staff understood what people's needs were and how to support them.
People told us that they felt safe and could tell staff if they were unhappy about something.
At the time of our visit, Walton House was well furnished, homely and decorated to comfortable standards. The premises were clean and safely maintained.
People had the right specialist equipment to promote their independence and meet their assessed needs.
Staff told us that they were happy working at the home. They said that there was a good atmosphere and they had the training and information they needed to care for people. One said, 'Management treat the staff well' and another told us, 'The manager is really open and will answer any queries.'