Livability Brookside House

Updated 30 August 2019

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 two inspectors and one Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Livability Brookside House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with ten people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the registered manager, assistant manager, care workers, activities co-ordinator and the chef.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment, training and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including quality assurance, complaints and training records were also reviewed.

After the inspection

We received feedback from four relatives via the ‘Share Your Experience’ function of the CQC website. We spoke with two of those relatives. We received feedback from two involved professionals. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training quality monitoring and activities records.

Updated 30 August 2019

About the service

Livability Brookside House is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up 24 people living with physical disabilities, sensory impairment and learning disabilities. The service is run by Livability, a charitable organisation that provides care services nationally.

Brookside House accommodates up to 24 people in one adapted building. People live in their own apartments with private living and bathroom facilities. There is a large communal living and dining area.

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 support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

The service was a large home, bigger than most domestic style properties. It was registered for the support of up to 24 people. 20 people were using the service when we inspected. 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 with access to local services and public transport. Staff were also discouraged from wearing anything that suggested they were care staff when coming and going with people.

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

People benefited from an exceptionally caring service. The management team and staff really cared for the people they were supporting. They advocated for the people living at Brookside House. We heard of many examples were people benefited from the caring and dedicated nature of staff.

Staff were committed to ensuring people's wishes at the end of their lives were respected and that people were able to die with dignity and amongst people who they knew and who knew them well.

People were valued and placed at the centre of the service. People were supported to be active in the running of the home.

Staff promoted people’s privacy and dignity, enabling them to make choices and have as much control and independence as possible. They had gone the extra mile and used innovation and technology to do this.

The service sought to offer people new experiences, through a wide range of individual activities which were meaningful to them. Staff actively supported people to gain independence and learn life skills. People were encouraged to identify and follow pursuits that interested them.

The environment was warm and homely, and designed to promote the independence and quality of life of the people living there.

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.

Detailed care plans and risk assessments were in place for people using the service and were reviewed and updated regularly.

Staff were well trained, skilled and motivated to deliver a high-quality level of care. Staff had received training tailored to people's individual care needs.

People were supported to maintain good health and had access to healthcare services. Staff worked with a range of health professionals to ensure they knew people's care needs. Medicines were managed safely.

Staffing levels were enough to ensure that people’s needs were met. Staff were safely recruited.

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 27 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.