Archived: The Anchorage

Updated 30 April 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:

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type:

The Anchorage is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The Anchorage provides accommodation, personal care and support for up to six adults who have a learning disability, sensory impairment or mental health conditions. There were six people living at the home at the time of our inspection.

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 unannounced.

What we did:

Before the inspection we looked at all the information that we had about the service.

• This included information from statutory notifications. Statutory notifications include information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.

• We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is 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 also contacted professionals working with the service for their views.

During the inspection

• We spoke to the registered manager, the service manager, a team leader and four support staff.

• We spoke to four people who used the service and three relatives.

• We reviewed 4 people’s care records.

• We looked at the medicine administration records (MAR) and supporting documents for 2 people.

• We looked at records relating to the governance and management of the service.

• After the inspection we asked the registered manager and service manager to send us further documents which we received and reviewed.

Updated 30 April 2019

About the service:

The Anchorage is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to people with learning disabilities. At the time of the inspection there were six people living in the home. The building design fitted into the residential area and was similar to other domestic homes of a similar size. There were deliberately no identifying signs, intercom, cameras, industrial bins or anything else outside to indicate it was a care home. Staff were also discouraged from wearing anything that suggested they were care staff when coming and going with people.

People’s experience of using this service:

• The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support in the following ways, [promotion of choice and control, independence, inclusion] e.g. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

• People were protected from abuse, neglect and discrimination. Staff knew how to recognise abuse and protect people from the risk of harm.

• The management of environmental risks had improved since the last inspection and risks were managed and mitigated.

• Monthly monitoring was carried out on the water system. However there had not been an annual test of the water carried out to ensure it was free from legionella bacteria.

• We made a recommendation about following the latest guidance in regard to legionella testing.

• Risks associated with people’s care were identified and assessed and staff understood how to manage these.

• Procedures were in place to help protect against employing staff who were unsuitable to work in the service

• Medicines systems were organised and people were receiving their medicines when they should.

• The cleanliness of the environment had improved since the last inspection, and staff understood how to prevent and control the spread of infection.

• Systems were in place to ensure that lessons were learned when things went wrong.

• People’s needs were holistically assessed and staff understand how to support people to meet their needs.

• People were supported by staff who had ongoing training to help them meet people’s needs.

• People were supported to eat and drink and staff were aware of people’s special dietary needs.

• The building was adapted to meet people’s needs and there were plans in place to make further changes in response to people’s changing needs.

• People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

• People were involved in their care and supported by staff who were kind and caring.

• Staff understood how to promote people’s privacy and dignity and support them to be independent.

• People were supported to pursue hobbies and interests and to be involved in the local community.

• There was a positive person-centred culture promoted by the registered manager.

• There were systems in place to ensure that managers could monitor the ongoing quality of care and support.

• The managers engaged with people using the service, their relatives and staff to gather feedback on how the service could be improved.

• There were plans in place for continual improvement to the service.

Rating at last inspection: At the last inspection the service was rated requires improvement (Report published 20 March 2018). At this inspection we found improvements and rated the service good in all key questions.

Why we inspected: This was a scheduled planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up: Going forward we will continue to monitor this service and plan to inspect in line with our reinspection schedule for those services rated good.

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