Archived: Homefield College Limited - 139 Homefield Road

Updated 25 January 2020

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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Homefield College Limited - 139 Homefield Road is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this 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

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small, and people are often out, and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us. Inspection activity started on 8 January 2020 and ended on 14 January 2020.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We observed interactions between staff and two people. We spoke with two people and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager, head of care and support, head of human resources, deputy manager and care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and one medicine record. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits, meeting minutes, and accident and incident records were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 25 January 2020

About the service

Homefield College Limited – 139 Homefield Road is a residential care home providing personal care to three people with a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder at the time of the inspection. The service is registered to support up to four people.

Homefield College Limited - 139 Homefield Road is a bungalow, all living spaces are on one level. At the time of inspection, the fourth bedroom was used as an office with no plans to convert this to a bedroom for another person to move to the service.

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 learning disabilities and/or autism 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.

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

Improvements were needed to managerial quality assurance systems and processes to enable the registered manager to have a better oversight of the service. People knew the management team by name as they regularly provided support to people. People, relatives and staff provided positive feedback about the management team. The service sought feedback from people about their care experience to ensure any issues or concerns were promptly addressed.

Staff received training to meet people’s individual needs. However, we found training undertaken for a specific health need was not accredited. During our inspection the registered manager co-ordinated appropriate training for staff and implemented practice observations to ensure care was being delivered by staff as planned.

MCA assessments had been undertaken, improvements were needed to the recording of best interest decisions. However, we found people were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive ways possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People’s needs were assessed before receiving care from the service to inform the development of their care plans.

People received care from staff that were kind, caring and compassionate. People and staff had built positive relationships together and enjoyed spending time together. Staff were respectful and open to people of all faiths and beliefs. People’s privacy and dignity was respected.

People were supported by staff that took time to find out about their hobbies, interests and what was important to them. People accessed planned daytime activities, and outside of these engaged in activities of their choosing. Easily accessible complaints information was available to people living at the home. People knew who to speak with if they had any concerns and felt confident their concerns would be addressed.

People felt safe and were supported by staff that kept them safe from harm or abuse. Medicines were administered on time and people were supported by staff that had been safely recruited. Staff had a good knowledge of risks associated with providing people’s care. Accidents and incidents were reported, and lessons were learned.

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 10 August 2017).

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.