Heaton Vale

Heaton Vale is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care in a flat scheme setting of up to 10 flats for people aged 18 with Autism and/or a learning disability.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

At the time of our inspection there were 10 people using the service, of which 8 people were receiving support with personal care.

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

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.

Right support

People were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service did not support this practice.

Processes were in place to assess people under the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) however, we found that the service was not always working in line with this.

Robust care plans were in place which provided guidance for staff on how the person wished to receive their care. However, improvements were required over records staff completed to evidence how the person spent their day.

We received mixed responses from people and relatives regarding staffing levels, which meant that people could not always access activities they wished to complete. However, relatives reflected recent improvement in staffing and the challenges that the care sector faces in recruiting staff. The provider was able to demonstrate on-going recruitment and improvements in recent months.

Safe recruitment processes were followed. Staff received on-going training and development to support them in their roles.

People were encouraged to have choice and support was personalised to their wishes. Staff supported people to be as independent as possible in their homes and out in the community.

Right Care

People were positive about the care and support they received. People were treated with dignity and respect by staff knowledgeable about the person and their support needs.

People were supported to be as independent as possible in the home. Staff knew people well and spoke passionately regarding the people they supported and working for the provider.

Relatives were positive regarding their loved ones living at the service and support that was provided.

Right Culture:

Relatives gave mixed feedback regarding communication and involvement with the service. With some relatives sharing their wish for communication to be improved.

We identified some improvements were required in relation to medicines and the provider policy to ensure that staff were clear of their responsibilities.

Staff spoke positively about the management team and felt supported to develop in their roles.

People who lived in the service overall spoke positively about the staff and the support they received.

The registered manager, management team and staff demonstrated a personal-centred culture which focused on meeting people's individual needs.

Professionals gave positive feedback of partnership working with management and staff at Heaton Vale and achieving outcomes for people.

The registered manager was committed to making continued improvements.

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 outstanding (published 13 November 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified a breach in relation oversight of the MCA and management of actions to keep people safe.

We made a recommendation for the provider to review their medication policy and the registered manager to review medicines in the service.

We made a recommendation over communication and engagement with relatives.

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.

Heaton Vale Care Home is part of City Care Partnership, an independent provider of specialist services for adults with learning disabilities. Heaton Vale is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide care and support services for up to 10 adults aged 18 and over who are living with learning disabilities and Autistic Spectrum Condition.

In collaboration with an independent landlord and Manchester City Council, the provider has developed the concept of successful living spaces within the Heaton Norris community in the heart of Stockport.

Bespoke accommodation, person centred care and support is provided to people in 10 self-contained apartments with separate on-site support staff accommodation with easy access to transport links to Stockport and Manchester City Centre. At the time of our inspection, seven people were being supported.

The provider continually aims to make sure that people with severe disabilities and complex support needs are an integral part of the community of Heaton Norris. The service offers people a wide choice of activities, opportunities and work environments to support the safe transition to a more independent model of living.

The service had 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.

On arrival at Heaton Vale the environment was calm, relaxed and welcoming. The registered manager, staff team and people using the service were very keen to share their knowledge and experience of working and living at the service. All of the people we spoke with told us they felt Heaton Vale was a safe place to live and they were supported to have as much freedom of choice and control in their lives as possible.

The service worked collaboratively and with mutual respect for other professionals so that people's social, emotional and physical needs were met. This helped them to lead an exceptionally high standard quality of life. People’s care and support was planned proactively with them and identified areas of potential risk had been continually, assessed, monitored and evaluated to help reduce or eliminate any risks to people.

There was a culture of openness and transparency at the service. Staff were extremely positive ¿about the management and leadership which inspired them to deliver a high quality service.

The ¿registered manager and the provider demonstrated exceptional leadership. They encouraged ¿ideas from staff to benefit the people in their care and maintain a strong, stable staff team with a ¿shared goal. ¿

Staff received a comprehensive induction to the service. High quality training was tailored specifically for staff to ensure the needs of the people they supported were appropriately responded to and met.

People were supported by very kind, caring and compassionate staff who routinely went above and beyond what was expected of them to ¿provide people with excellent, high quality care.

Staffing levels ensured people were provided with the person centred support they needed and to have as much freedom as possible. Staff told us the agreed time was always available ¿to support people and this was paramount to ensuring people’s wellbeing and development.

The registered manager and support workers were exceptionally knowledgeable and acutely aware of their responsibilities to protect people from abuse and/or harm.

The provider carried out robust recruitment checks prior to people starting work at the service..

Staff demonstrated their knowledge and awareness of the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and ¿ Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

Practice observed and records kept demonstrated people received their medicines safely and as prescribed.

People were supported by highly motivated staff in meeting their dietary, nutritional and hydration needs.

There was a strong culture within the service of treating people with dignity and respect. People ¿and the staff knew each other well and these relationships were valued.

The registered manager, staff and provider were always visible and available to listen to people and their relatives to ¿offer them choice and make them feel that they mattered.

People's support plans showed that comprehensive and thorough needs assessments had been completed by a range of health and social care professionals well in advance of moving into Heaton Vale.

People were at the heart of everything the provider did and were consulted and involved in everything.

Feedback from people who used the service and their relatives was used to make changes to the ¿service and to drive improvements. People told us they could raise concerns and these would be taken seriously, investigated and responded to appropriately.¿

People and their relatives spoke very highly about the service and indicated their experiences had been extremely positive. The management team, support workers and the service were described as “Outstanding”, “Extremely professional and knowledgeable”, “An exceptional service” and “Absolutely amazing."