Upton Cottage

Upton Cottage is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 16 people. At the time of our inspection there were 16 people using the service. The building is over 4 floors with a conservatory, dining area, lounge and offices in the basement area.

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

Right Support:

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests. Although we found some improvements were required to the quality assurance systems relating to the management of medicines, risk assessments, and the safe disposal of personal protective equipment.

Right Care:

People were supported to receive person centred care that promoted their dignity and privacy and encouraged their independence. People were supported by staff to attend appointments and have referrals to health and social care professionals. People’s care plans contained important information such as likes and dislikes and their individual routines.

Right Culture:

People were supported by staff and management who knew them well. People’s views were sought through customer satisfaction surveys and meetings. People were spoken with in a calm and respectful manner. People were encouraged to be independent including accessing the local community such as shops, restaurants and use public transport if safe to do so.

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was Good August 2017. At this inspection we found the service was requires Improvement.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted as we had not inspected this service since 2017.

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.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified a breach in relation to regulation 17 good governance.

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 continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

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

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'All reports' link for Upton Cottage, on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Upton Cottage is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 16 people with learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were 16 people living at the service.

A registered manager was in post at the time of inspection. 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.

At our previous inspection there was not an effective system in place to monitor and identify issues with the building and infection control procedures. At this inspection we found sufficient improvements had been made. People were cared for in a safe, clean and hygienic environment.

At our previous inspection the service had not submitted statutory notifications of incidents as required by the CQC (Registration) Regulations 2009. Statutory notifications are information about important events which affect people or the home, which the service is legally obliged to submit. We found sufficient improvements had been made. The registered manager sent appropriate notifications to the Care Quality Commission.

Records showed that a range of checks had been carried out on staff to determine their suitability for work. Staffing numbers were sufficient to meet people’s needs and this ensured people were supported safely.

Risks to people were assessed and where required a risk management plan was in place to support people manage an identified risk and keep the person safe.

People’s rights were being upheld in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. This is a legal framework to protect people who are unable to make certain decisions themselves. We saw information in people’s support plans about mental capacity and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). DoLS applications had been applied for appropriately. These safeguards aim to protect people living in services from being inappropriately deprived of their liberty.

People had their health needs monitored. People had access to healthcare professionals according to their specific needs.

Where appropriate people were encouraged to maintain contact with their family and were therefore not isolated from those people closest to them.

Staff were caring towards people and there was a good relationship between people and staff. People and their representatives were involved in the planning of their care and support. Staff demonstrated and in-depth understanding of the needs and preferences of the people they cared for. People were treated with respect and dignity.

Support provided to people met their needs. Supporting records highlighted personalised information about what was important to people and how to support them. People were involved in activities of their choice.

Staff described the registered manager as supportive and approachable. The registered manager encouraged an open line of communication with their team.

There were systems in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service.

We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people who used the service, because they had complex needs which meant some people were not able to tell us their experiences. We relied on our observations and discussions with staff to understand the experience of care for those people living in Upton Cottage.

People were satisfied with the choice of meals at Upton Cottage. The staff understood how to effectively support people with their nutritional needs.

People were protected from the risks of unsuitable staff being employed at Upton Cottage because there were effective recruitment and selection processes in place.

The quality of the service people received was being effectively monitored and reviewed. The quality monitoring process involved seeking the views of people who used the service as well as those who represented them.