We carried out a review of the data available to us about Harewood Park on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Harewood Park, you can give feedback on this service.
Harewood Park is a home supporting people who may have a mental health condition or learning disability. The home supports people with personal and nursing care, at the time of inspection 32 people were being supported. The home can support up to 35 people. The home operated from two buildings, one being the main house which accommodated up to 28 people and adjacent was the cottage which supported up to 7 people who were starting to live more independently.
The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with a mental health condition or learning disabilities to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.
The service was a large home, bigger than most domestic style properties. It was registered for the support of up to 35 people, not all people living in the home had learning disabilities. This is larger than current best practice guidance. However, the size of the service having a negative impact on people was mitigated by the building design fitting into the residential area and the other large domestic homes of a similar size. The home sat within its own grounds and there were no deliberately identifying signs, intercom, cameras, industrial bins or anything else outside to indicate it was a care home.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were supported safely by staff who had the skills and knowledge to provide safe and effective support. People’s risks were managed, plans were in place to support people and staff knew people well.
People consented to their care and they were supported to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Professional advice was sought for people to ensure their health and wellbeing was maintained, which included people’s nutritional needs.
Staff were kind and caring and supported people to communicate. People were listened to and their wishes were respected. People had their privacy and dignity upheld and were encouraged to be independent. People told us they liked living in the home.
People were supported to access the community and take part in activities they enjoyed. People were given the opportunity to become volunteers in the local community which supported the next step to living independently.
Systems were in place to monitor the safety of the home which ensured peoples’ risks were mitigated and lessons were learnt. Action plans had been put into place to ensure the home continuously improved, these included feedback from people.
There was an open culture within the home and people could approach all staff and management to express their thoughts and felt listened to. People’s concerns were acted on which improved peoples’ experience of living in the home.
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; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.
The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Good (published 20 December 2016)
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
The service was registered to provide support and nursing care for up to 37 people who may have a learning disability or mental health condition. There were 34 people living in the home at the time of our inspection. Seven people lived in a cottage adjacent to the main service and were being supported to gain life skills to enable them to live independently.
The service had a registered manager. 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.
People were supported by staff who knew how to recognise abuse and how to respond to concerns. Risks in relation to people’s daily life were assessed and planned for, to protect them from harm.
The staff were friendly and professional in their approach and spoke confidently with people. People were happy with the support they received from staff who had the knowledge and skills to provide safe and appropriate care and support. People could make decisions and chose how to spend their time; staff knew how to act if people did not have the capacity to make decisions and where restrictions were placed on people, applications had been made to ensure these were lawful.
Staff ensured that people were supported to maintain their dignity and respected their right to privacy. People were supported by enough staff to ensure they received care and support when they needed it. Medicines were managed safely and people received their medicines as prescribed. People’s preferences were considered and incorporated into their support plans. There were regular reviews of people’s care to ensure it accurately reflected their needs.
People were supported to eat meals of their choice in a pleasant sociable environment. People’s health and wellbeing was monitored and the support of healthcare professionals was sought whenever specialist advice was required.
People, staff and external professionals were happy with the way the home was managed. People were involved in giving their views on how the service was run and there were systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided. When people or their relatives raised concerns or complaints there was an investigation followed by a detailed response.
We found that the provider had systems in place to gain consent for care and treatment from people who used the service. We observed staff supporting people with decisions in a way that people understood. Staff we spoke with understood their responsibilities with regards to the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
People we spoke with told us that they were happy with the care provided and staff treated them in a caring way. One person told us, 'Staff are good to me'. Another person told us, 'Staff help me when I feel upset about things and they (staff) make me feel better'.
People who used the service were protected from the risk of infection because the provider followed guidance to prevent cross contamination. We observed staff wearing aprons and gloves during the inspection.
We found that the provider had an effective recruitment system in place. Appropriate checks had been undertaken by the registered manager which ensured that staff were suitable to provide support to vulnerable people.
The provider had a complaints system in place which was accessible to people who used the service. People told us they knew who to discuss any concerns with if they needed to.
People told us that they had choices in how their care was care was carried out and they were treated with dignity and respect. Staff were aware of the individual needs of the people who used the service and how they preferred the support to be carried out and people were supported to maintain their independence.
We spoke with people who used the service who told us, "I feel safe" and "Staff treat me right". Staff we spoke with understood the procedures to follow if they felt that someone was at risk of harm.
People we spoke with told us that staff were caring and knew what support they needed. Staff had received mandatory training, support and regular supervision/appraisals to ensure that they provide care at the appropriate standards.
The provider had effective systems in place to gain the views of people who used the service and acted upon any suggestions that had been made.