• Care Home
  • Care home

Archived: Harborough Road

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

1a Harborough Road, Rushden, Northamptonshire, NN10 0LT (01933) 413163

Provided and run by:
Royal Mencap Society

All Inspections

2 October 2017

During a routine inspection

The inspection was carried out on 2 October 2017. The inspection was announced.

The service is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to four people living with learning disabilities. Accommodation is provided in detached house in a residential area of Rushden in Northamptonshire. At the time of our inspection three people living in the service.

At the last Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in October 2015, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

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. We were notified before the inspection that the registered manager was absent and that the service was being run by an area manager until 9 October 2017 when the registered manager returned.

People continued to be safe. People were protected against the risk of abuse. People felt safe in the service. Staff recognised the signs of abuse or neglect and what to look out for.

Staff followed appropriate guidance to minimise identified risks to people's health, safety and welfare. There were enough staff to keep people safe. The provider had appropriate arrangements in place to check the suitability and fitness of new staff to work at the service.

Medicines were managed safely and people received them as prescribed.

Staff received regular training and supervision to help them to meet people's needs effectively.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People were supported to have a healthy balanced diet and were supported to access health services when they needed them.

Staff were caring and treated people with dignity and respect and ensured people's privacy was maintained.

Each person had an up to date, personalised support plan. These plans were detailed and included information that staff needed in order to know how to support people. The plans included sections in an easy to read format that people could refer to.

Staff encouraged people to actively participate in activities, pursue their interests and to maintain relationships with people that mattered to them.

Staff ensured the complaints procedure was made available to people to enable them to make a complaint if they needed to. Regular checks and reviews of the service continued to be made to ensure people experienced good quality safe care and support.

People and staff were encouraged to provide feedback about how the service could be improved. This was used to make changes and improvements that people wanted.

The service had continued to provide good care and support during the period the registered was absent because effective interim management arrangements were in place and because staff were motivated and knowledgeable about people’s needs.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

28 September 2015

During a routine inspection

The inspection took place on 28 September 2015 and was unannounced. The service is based in a residential area of Rushden, Northamptonshire and provides care for up to four people who have complex learning disabilities. At the time of the inspection three people were using the service.

The service had a registered manager in post. 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. The registered manager was on leave at the time of our inspection and staff support was being provided by the area manager.

The staff had a good understanding of what constituted abuse and of the safeguarding procedures to follow should they need to report any abuse.

Risks were appropriately managed to ensure that people were supported to make choices and take risks.

Staff had been recruited following safe and robust procedures and there was sufficient numbers of suitable staff available to keep people safe and meet their needs.

Systems were in place to monitor accidents and incidents so that preventative action could be taken to reduce the number of occurrences.

Robust arrangements were in place for the safe administration and management of medicines.

Staff had the skills and knowledge needed to support people appropriately and had regular training updates to maintain their skills. A programme of staff supervision and annual appraisals enabled the staff to reflect on their work practice and plan their learning and development needs.

People’s consent was sought before providing their care. People who lacked the capacity to make decisions were supported following the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

People benefitted from having a balanced and varied diet. Their dietary needs were monitored and advice was sought from appropriate health professionals when needed.

People had regular access to healthcare professionals and were supported to attend health appointments.

The staff treated people with kindness and compassion, dignity and respect.

People had individualised care plans in place that detailed and reflected their needs and choices on how they wanted their care and support to be provided.

Social and purposeful activities were provided for people to meet their individual needs and aspirations.

People were encouraged to provide feedback on the service; complaints were taken seriously and responded to immediately.

We received positive feedback from health and social care professionals involved in monitoring people’s care at the service.

The service was led by a registered manager who continually strived to provide a good quality service. The vision and values were person-centred. People and their representatives were supported to be involved and in control of their care.

Effective quality management systems were in place to continually monitor the service.

5 September 2013

During a routine inspection

The home had a happy and relaxed atmosphere. Staff and the people who used the service were friendly and welcoming. Everyone appeared to be 'at home' and the surroundings were domestic and inviting. One person told us, 'This is a good place.'

People were encouraged to eat a healthy diet. One person said, 'I like healthy eating ' my favourite food is baked potatoes.' Pictures of healthy food items were displayed in the kitchen to help people identify what was good for them.

People had been involved in personalising and decorating their bedrooms. One person said, 'I chose purple for my bedroom because it's my favourite colour.' Framed photos of the people who used the service on holidays and days out were on display and people enjoyed showing these to us.

People got on well with the staff. One person told us, 'I like all the staff.' We observed staff providing both one to one and group care. Staff worked with people in a warm and supportive way and were patient and kind.

21 November 2012

During a routine inspection

We spoke with relatives of the people who used the service one of whom said "We come to our relatives care review every six months, we are really happy with the care they receive." Another relative we spoke with told us "I cannot praise the staff enough, they are fantastic, my relative is really happy there."

We found that people who used the service, relatives and advocates understood the care and treatment choices available and were supported in promoting their independence and community involvement. When a person wanted to attend a day centre, go swimming or go on a day out the staff helped them to achieve this. We found that staff treated the people with dignity and respect. We found that the care people received was in line with the individual care plans, staff were aware of how to keep people who used the service safe and that staff had gone through strict employment checks prior to working at the location