Cole Bank Road

Cole Bank Road is a residential care home providing personal care for up to seven people with a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder. At the time of inspection six people were living in the home.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

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

Right support

People were supported to have choice, staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The provider supported people to make choices, and have control over their own lives, such as what time they got up and went to bed.

Right care

We saw that staff were caring and promoted the people they were supporting dignity.

Right culture

Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. Staff told us how they would recognise pain, distress and discomfort in people who could not verbally communicate.

People felt safe and staff had good knowledge of safeguarding processes.

Staff had been recruited safely.

There was a system in place to monitor staff contact with people in the form of daily logs to ensure continuity of care after shift changes. Care plans and risk assessments identified people’s support needs and staff had a good understanding of the support people needed.

Infection Controls were in accordance with good hygiene practices.

Leadership decisions about encouraging independence meant that people were encouraged to do as much as possible for themselves to promote independence.

People were treated with kindness and compassion. People felt well supported. People’s privacy and dignity was maintained.

People received person centred care. People, relatives and staff expressed confidence in the (Acting) manager. People, relatives and staff were given the opportunity to provide feedback. Audits took place to ensure the quality of the service was maintained.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 11 March 2011. It was last Inspected on 09 December 2020 with an overall rating of ‘Good’.

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of Right support right care right culture. We inspected due to concerns about safeguarding and only looked at the Safe and Well-led key questions and we had concerning information we wanted to follow up on.

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 Good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Cole Bank Road on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.

We found the following examples of good practice.

¿ A health screening questionnaire was completed when visitors arrived at the home to ensure visits took place safely in line with current guidance.

¿ People were supported to maintain contact with people who were important to them. This included making frequent video and telephone calls. The manager spoke with people’s family members each week to keep them up to date on their relative's wellbeing.

¿ People's clothing and bedding was laundered individually to reduce the risks of cross contamination.

¿ The provider sent monthly newsletters to staff which contained information updates about Covid-19 and also shared positive news stories across the organisation.

¿ A confidential helpline was available to staff so they could seek advice or support during the pandemic. Staff had also been given small gifts to say thank you for their hard work.

¿ Cleaning schedules had been increased and additional audits had been implemented to monitor cleanliness and staff compliance with the provider's infection control policy.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

Relatives were very happy with the quality of care and support provided by the home. Feedback included, “I am ecstatic about the care; the staff are wonderful and my relative is content.”

People were protected from harm through robust risk assessments and staff took a clear and consistent approach to reduce the risks to people. People received their prescribed medication at the right time and medicines were stored and managed safely.

Managers investigated any incidents thoroughly and ensured plans were put in place to reduce the risk of further harm.

People were supported by staff who were skilled and well trained for their role. People lived in a spacious and well decorated home which allowed them to choose where to spend their time and enabled them to take part in activities they enjoyed.

People’s capacity had been assessed and where people lacked capacity to consent to support, care was taken to ensure decisions were made in people’s best interests. This included involving advocates and relatives in decision making processes.

We saw that staff spent time with people and took part in activities that people enjoyed. Staff knew people’s likes and routines well and ensured that people’s preferences for care and support were followed.

Staff and relatives were happy with the way the service was led and managed. Comprehensive audits and checks were carried out on a regular basis and action was taken to address gaps in practice and staff performance.

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good (10 February 2016)

About the service:

Cole Bank Road is a residential care home that provides personal and nursing care for people with learning disabilities, autism and/or mental health difficulties. At the time of the inspection there were seven people using the service, although two people were in hospital at the time of the inspection.

The care service has been developed in line with the values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

Further details about the service can be found in the full report.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Enforcement:

No enforcement action was required.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive.

One relative told us "The staff were able to answer all of my questions straight away...I was able to bring my [relative] for a good few visits before they came in so that they could adjust to the new environment and meet the other residents... All the staff were so kind and considerate and this had made it easier for my [relative] to feel relaxed about the move."

People were supported to eat and drink sufficiently and we found that people's nutritional needs were clearly addressed. Staff received the necessary training to support people's ability to take nourishment safely.

People were cared for in a clean, hygienic environment and were protected from the risk of infection because appropriate guidance had been followed.

Records, including people's personal records were accurate and fit for purpose. Care files were well structured and clearly organised with up to date and relevant information. Records were kept securely and could be located promptly when needed.

There were sufficient numbers of staff on duty to meet people's needs and people looked at ease with their care workers. One person told us that they liked living at the home and that staff gave them a lot of help and were friendly.

People's needs were assessed and support plans covered a wide range of their needs. Plans included agreed strategies for managing identified risks to their welfare. People were supported to access other health and social care services and records were kept of contact and appointments. Families were encouraged to continue to contribute to the care of their relative. Clear strategies were in place for care workers to follow in order to protect people who were at risk of specific harm.

The design and layout of the premises was suitable for people who used it, enabled their independence and people moved around the home comfortably.