Archived: Homefield College Limited - 151 Ratcliffe Road

Updated 4 August 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This was a comprehensive inspection that was completed by one inspector and an expert by experience on 8 June 2017 and was unannounced. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Before the inspection we reviewed information that we held about the service such as notifications, which are events which happened in the service that the provider is required to tell us about, and information that had been sent to us by other agencies. This included the local authority who commissioned services from the provider. We also sought feedback from Healthwatch Leicestershire (the consumer champion for health and social care.)

During our inspection we spoke with three people who used the service and three relatives of people who used the service. We found that some people had limited verbal communication but were able to tell us what they thought. We observed interaction between staff and people who used the service during our visit. We also spoke with five members of staff, the deputy manager and the registered manager.

We looked at records and charts relating to two people and four staff recruitment records. We looked at other information related to the running of and the quality of the service. This included quality assurance audits, training information for care staff, staff duty rotas, meeting minutes and arrangements for managing complaints.

Updated 4 August 2017

Homefield College Limited - 151 Ratcliffe Road provides accommodation, care and support for up to three people with learning disabilities. People had previously attended Homefield College before moving to their current home. At the time of our inspection there were three people living in the home. At the last inspection, in March 2015, the service was rated Good. However, we rated the effective domain as requiring improvements. At this inspection we found that the required improvements had been made and the service remained Good overall.

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 continued to receive safe care. Staff were appropriately recruited. People were protected from the risk of avoidable harm. Where risks were identified for people while they were receiving support these had been assessed and control measures put in place. People received their medicines in line with their prescription.

There had been a change in how staff were deployed and this had resulted in an increase in agency staff used at the service. Some relatives and staff felt that this had a negative impact on the service that people received although it was improving. There were enough staff available to meet people's needs safely.

The care that people received was effective. Permanent staff had access to the support, supervision and training that they required to work effectively in their roles. Where agency staff were used their training was reviewed to make sure that this was suitable to meet people's needs.

People were supported in line with the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Staff and the registered manager had an understanding of the MCA. Staff told us that they sought people’s consent before delivering their support.

People were supported to maintain good health and nutrition. The registered manager knew what actions to take if there were concerns about people's weight. People had access to healthcare services.

People developed positive relationships with staff who were caring and treated them with respect, kindness and dignity.

People had plans of care in place that were focused on them as individuals. This allowed staff to provide consistent support in line with people’s personal preferences.

People and their relatives felt they could raise a concern and the provider had implemented effective systems to manage any complaints that they may receive.

The service had a positive ethos and an open culture. The registered manager was a visible role model in the home. People, their relatives and staff told us that they felt confident that they could approach the manager and that they would listen. There were quality assurance systems in place to monitor and review the quality of the service that was provided. The change in how staff were deployed had been discussed with staff prior to this taking place. The provider agreed to discuss staff concerns about this further with them to try and address these.