The Bungalow

Updated 5 June 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Inspection manager.

Service and service type: The Bungalow is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

We found that the building met the requirements of both Building the Right Support (BRS) and Registering the Right Support (RRS) guidance for best practice in community care services.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

The inspection was announced as the service is very small and people using the service are often out so we needed to ensure they would be in.

What we did:

We reviewed information we had received about the service since registration. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as abuse; and we sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We assessed the information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

Not everyone who used the service was able to communicate with us on the day of our inspection. However, we spoke with one person who used the service and a relative to ask about their experience of the care provided and observed staff providing support. In addition, we spoke with two visiting health professionals.

We spoke with four members of staff including the nominated individual, registered manager and two care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included all three people's care records and their medication records. We also looked at five staff files in relation to recruitment and supervision records along with records relating to the management of the home and a variety of policies and procedures developed and implemented by the provider.

Updated 5 June 2019

About the service: The Bungalow is a purpose-built care home providing accommodation for three people living with autism, physical or learning disability requiring nursing or personal care. At the time of our inspection, three people were living at the service. The accommodation was provided on a single floor with all rooms accessed from a central corridor.

People’s experience of using this service:

People felt safe and staff ensured that risks to their health and safety were reduced. We found that sufficient staff were deployed to safely meet people’s needs. Staff had received training to ensure they had the knowledge to protect people from the risk of avoidable harm or abuse, whilst providing care.

People were protected from the risk of an acquired health infection, as the service employed dedicated cleaning staff to ensure the environment was clean and had appropriate policies and procedures to monitor and reduce the risk.

Systems were in place to support people to take their medicines safely. Staff received relevant training and felt well supported. People were asked for their consent to their care and appropriate steps were taken to support people who lacked capacity to make decisions.

People were supported to eat and drink enough to maintain good health.

There were positive and caring relationships between people using the service and the staff who cared for them. Staff promoted people's right to make their own decisions about their care where possible and respected the choices they made. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People were treated with dignity and respect by staff who understood the importance of this.

People received person-centred and responsive care from staff who had a clear understanding of their current support needs. Care plans were in place, which provided information about the care people required.

People knew how to make a complaint and there was a clear complaints procedure in place.

When people were at the end of their life the service had effective measures in place to support them and ensure their wishes and needs were met.

An open and transparent culture enabled people and staff to speak up if they wished to. The management team provided strong leadership and a clear direction to staff.

There were robust quality monitoring procedures in place. The management structure of the service was clear.

People's safety had been considered and risks had been reduced by the introduction of equipment or guidance. Staff had received training in relation to safeguarding and knew how to protect people from harm.

Information was provided in a range of formats to support understanding. People were able to access support to meet their cultural, spiritual and religious beliefs.

There was a registered manager at the home. When required notifications were usually completed to inform us of events and incidents, this helped us the monitor the action the provider had taken.

Rating at last inspection: First inspection since registration.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection to assess if the service was meeting the requirements of the Health and Social care Act 2014. At this inspection found the service Good

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.