Primrose Road

Primrose Road is a residential care home providing personal care to six adults with a learning disability in one adapted building.

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

People who could communicate told us they felt safe at the service.

People had appropriate risk assessments to reduce their risk of harm in the service and out in the community.

Care workers understood their safeguarding responsibilities and told us they would report any concern or poor practice to the registered manager. Care workers also advised they would blow the whistle if their concerns were not being taken seriously.

There were enough care workers to support people at the service. People were supported by care workers who had been recruited safely and people were involved in the recruitment process.

The service was clean and care workers followed good infection control practices to minimise the risk of infection.

Care workers received the skills and knowledge through regular training and support from the provider. People and their relatives told us staff were good at their jobs and knew how to provide effective care.

People were able to choose what they wanted to eat and drink at the service and people who needed support to eat meals received this from care workers.

People and their relatives told us care workers were kind and patient and care workers did not discriminate against people at the service. People’s privacy and dignity was respected at the service.

Care plans were personalised and stated people’s preferences and communication needs. People were supported to engage in activities of their choice, attend places of worship and to spend time with people important to them.

People, relatives and care workers spoke positively about the management of the service.

The service actively sought feedback from all involved in people’s care and used this to improve the service. Quality assurance systems were effective to check people were receiving care that was of high quality.

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 24 February 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.

Primrose Road is a learning disability service currently providing support to six older adults.

The service is situated in a quiet residential area; the service is homely and spacious with a large outdoor garden to the rear.

Each person had their own bedroom. There were two bedrooms on the ground floor each with a sink and four bedrooms on the second floor and two of these had a private toilet and sink.

There was a registered manager at Primrose Road. 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 protected from the risks of abuse as staff knew how to identify different types of abuse and who to report it to. Staff stated they would whistleblow if needed, staff said they were there to speak up for people and protect them.

Risk was also assessed to ensure people were not at risk of harm during moving and handling for example and other areas relating to their care. These assessments were clear and explained how staff should safely support people where there was a risk associated.

Medicines were handled and administered safely and senior staff performed competence checks before staff could administer medicines to people.

Safe recruitment was carried out and records confirmed that people were involved in the recruitment process during interviews. Further records showed that relevant checks on staff’s previous employment history and suitability to work with people with a criminal records check were performed.

The risk of infection was reduced as staff cleaned the service and used colour coded personal protective equipment to minimise the risk of cross contamination.

Emergency procedures were in place and staff demonstrated they would protect people in the event of an emergency.

Staff were trained in a number of areas to ensure they were effective in their jobs. Staff told us they felt supported in their role and records confirmed they received regular supervision and an annual appraisal.

People’s consent was requested before care was given and people were involved in making decision about their daily lives. Where people had been deprived of their liberty this had been documented and authorised by the correct supervisory body.

People were supported to eat healthy meals and staff were observed to support people who needed it in a dignified way.

People were supported by caring, kind and patient staff who were observed spending time speaking to people in a compassionate way.

People had care plans and these were personalised with goals set for each person. People’s family were involved in the planning process and invited to reviews. Staff were knowledgeable of people’s needs and met with people monthly during key working sessions.

Staff encouraged people to share their views and if they were not happy to make a complaint, complaint procedures were written in an easy read format.

A number of activities of people’s choosing took place and people were taken on annual holiday trips.

Staff spoke positively about the management of the service and that they could approach them when needed to discuss any issues relating their job role. Relatives felt they could easily approach management at the service.

The service had a number of quality assurance systems in place to monitor the service provided.

People told us staff asked for their consent before carrying out care. One person said, "They always ask me if it's OK. I say yes." People had signed to say they agreed with their care plans, or if they did not have capacity to do so, next of kin had signed on their behalf.

We found assessments were in place and care was planned in accordance with these. People were involved in planning care and said they were able to participate in activities and household tasks. One person said, "We went to Southend yesterday." Risk management plans were in place and staff were trained in dealing with emergencies.

People told us they had plenty to eat and drink and they chose their own meals. One person said, "It's up to you what you eat here." We found expert advice from speech and language therapists had been used to inform care plans around eating and drinking.

We found equipment was regularly tested and serviced and there was enough equipment to promote people's independence.

Staff told us they felt they had a 'particularly positive' team. People and their relatives told us 'staff are always smiling' and 'staff seem very happy.' We found evidence that staff had regular supervision and appraisals.

We found records were accurate and well-maintained.

People that we spoke to told us that felt safe at the home and that all their care needs were effectively met. they told us that staff were kind and helpful. People also told us they had good access to health care professionals such as doctors, district nurses, dentists and chiropodists.

Care plans showed us that the provider had taken care to create an inclusive person centred environment.