During an assessment under our new approach
Date of assessment: 7 April to 30 April 2025. The service is a residential care service providing support to older and younger adults living with dementia and mental health conditions. The service also supports some autistic people and people with a learning disability. We have assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.
Leaders and staff provided outstanding care and had created a shared vision and culture based on listening, learning and trust. Leaders were visible, knowledgeable and supportive, helping staff develop in their roles. Staff felt extremely well supported and told us they were treated equally, free from bullying or harassment. People were very happy with the support and felt the approaches used had, “Saved their life” and, “Gave them hope for the future.” Staff understood their roles and responsibilities and worked hard to continually keep up with changes and apply them to their practice. Managers worked with the local community to deliver the best possible care and were receptive to new ideas. There was a culture of continuous improvement with staff who were given time and resources to trial different ways of working and approaches to support people to achieve their goals.
People were kept safe from the risk of avoidable harm and supported to understand risks and agree how best to reduce them. Staff understood how to safely manage risks and recognise potential abuse. They were confident to report any concerns to the appropriate professionals. Incidents and accidents were thoroughly reviewed and analysed to identify trends and areas for improvement. The service and equipment were well maintained, clean and environmental risk such as risks associated with fire were well managed.
There were enough staff on duty with the skills and experience to meet people’s individual needs which meant people did not have to wait for support. The registered managers and staff team used person centred approaches in line with the principles of CQC’s policy on Right support, right care, right culture to ensure people were given choices, retained independence and remained in control of decisions about their care. People were involved in assessments and reviews and had the support of advocates where required. Any restrictions were lawful and in line with the Mental Health Act 2005. Restrictions were regularly reviewed to ensure they were still relevant and the least restrictive methods were being used. The quality of records meant staff had detailed guidance on what to be aware of to ensure people were well and what to do in the event of an emergency or deterioration in people’s health. Medicines were safely managed and regularly reviewed.