24 May 2023
During a routine inspection
About the service
Gallaudet Home is a residential care home providing personal care without nursing for 7 people who were Deaf and had other conditions such as learning disabilities, autism and mental health. The service can support up to 8 people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support
People were supported to spend their time where they liked within the home. Others were regularly accessing the educational facility on site and the local community. However, some people were not always achieving their full potential or quality of life because staff lacked specialist training. Systems and staff knowledge were not always in place to support people who could become distressed.
People were supported to review their care and support with key staff each month. Staff changes had delayed these meetings for some people and as a result, their preferences had not always been supported.
People were not always supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not always 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.
Right Care
People were supported by staff who knew them well. However, their care plans did not always reflect this detailed knowledge to support consistent care.
People’s privacy and dignity was respected. Each person was valued as an individual and their differences and choices celebrated.
Right Culture
The manager was working towards embedding a Deaf culture into the service by ensuring all staff were able to use British Sign Language. Some individual examples were talked through at the inspection. However, the wider Deaf community and resources had not always been considered.
People were not always living empowered lives because staff did not always have the skills or understanding to embed the ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance. The management promoted a caring culture in the service which some compared to a family feel.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 30 June 2021 and this is the first inspection. The last rating for the service under the previous provider was Good (published 11 January 2019).
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 made 2 recommendations about supporting people who can become upset or distressed and the duty of candour.
We have identified a breach in relation to decisions making 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.