Minstead House

Updated 18 January 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.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors.

Service and service type

Minstead House 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. Minstead House 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.

The registered manager had recently left the home. The provider was in the process of recruiting a new registered manager.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority. 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 used the service and 6 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 7 members of staff including the provider, manager, senior carer and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 6 people's care records and medication records. We looked at 5 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff competencies. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.

Updated 18 January 2023

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

Minstead House is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 8 people. The service provides support to people with learning disabilities and autism. At the time of the inspection there were 6 people living in the home.

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

Right Support: The risks to people were identified; however, these risks and the plans for keeping people safe were not always reviewed. Staff knew how to look after people. People and their relatives told us their needs were being met in the home.

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: Improvements were needed in relation to the management of people’s medicines. Staff training needs had not been consistently monitored and addressed. The provider protected people from poor care and abuse. The provider ensured people were treated with respect and dignity whilst receiving care and treatment. Staff knew people well and cared for them in the way they wished.

Right Culture: The provider had failed to implement effective systems to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of people’s care. People’s care records were not always accurate, up-to-date and complete. People and their relatives told us the provider was communicative. Staff felt supported by the provider and able to do their job.

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 14 March 2018)

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to the safety of people and the culture of the home. As a result, we undertook a comprehensive inspection. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern.

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.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the Safe, Effective, Responsive and Well-led sections of this full report.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

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

Enforcement

We have identified a breach in relation to the provider’s governance and quality assurance processes at this inspection.

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.