The Old Haybarn

Updated 14 April 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

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors, 1 inspector visited the care home and 1 inspector supported the inspection remotely.

Service and service type

The old haybarn 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. The old haybarn 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 The registered manager is also the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. There is also a home manager who supports the registered manager in the day to day management of the home.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals 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 6 people who live at the old haybarn. We had feedback from 5 relatives and spoke with 8 members of staff. This included the nominated individual who is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. The home manager and 4 support workers and 2 administrators. We reviewed a number of records including, support plans and medicine records, staff recruitment and training records and a range of other records relating to the management and safety of the service.

Updated 14 April 2023

About the service

The Old Haybarn is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to 7 people with a learning disability and/ or autistic people. The building is converted to provide 7 en suite bedrooms. The building is in a small, gated area comprising of the organisation’s administration building and day service as well as 2 tenanted dwellings.

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

The service aims to provide a calm home which supports people to enjoy their life with reduced anxiety or emotional upset. People have access to some assistive technology used to support people to engage in the world around them. For example, mobile phones and tablets.

People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them as staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs.

Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcome. Staff supported people to play an active role in maintaining their own health and wellbeing.

Staff and people cooperated to assess risks people might face. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.

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 service supported this practice.

Right Care:

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

People's care, and support plans reflected their range of needs and promoted their individuality, wellbeing and enjoyment of life. People could take part in activities of their choosing at the service or in the wider community and pursue their own interests. Staff received training and support to provide care effectively.

Staff worked in partnership with healthcare professionals to maintain people’s health and wellbeing.

People told us they felt safe with staff. People told us they liked all the staff. Relatives had no concerns about the safety of people. There were policies and procedures regarding the safeguarding of adults and staff knew what action to take if they thought anyone was at risk of potential harm.

Right Culture:

Staff placed people's wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. The stable management and staff team supported people to receive consistent care from staff who knew them well. We observed people receiving compassionate and empowering care which was tailored to their needs throughout the inspection. People and staff were seen to treat each other with genuine regard. A staff member referring to a person they support said, “(Name of person) is an awesome person.”

Staff evaluated the quality of support provided to people, involving the person, their relatives and other professionals as appropriate. Most of the relatives we had contact with were complimentary and positive about the service and the care and support their loved ones received.

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 08 January 2020).

Why we inspected This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led. 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 from good. This is based on the findings at 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 the old haybarn 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.