Archived: RNID Action on Hearing Loss Newbridge Hill

Newbridge Hill is a residential care home which provides care for up to five people who are Deaf and who have additional complex needs, including learning disabilities. At the time of the inspection, five people were receiving care and support at 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

People were safe and protected from avoidable harm or abuse. Risk assessments were in place, although we noted that some radiators in some rooms were not covered. We have made a recommendation about risk assessing hot surfaces. The environment was homely, clean and well maintained and it met people’s needs. Plans were in place to refresh some areas of the building.

There were enough staff to meet the identified needs of people who lived at the service. Safe recruitment and selection procedures were in place. Staff received training and supervision to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to effectively support people and staff told us they felt well supported.

People living at the service took responsibility for their own medicines, but staff provided support and there were systems to ensure medicines were safely stored, recorded and disposed of.

People’s care, treatment and support achieved good outcomes and promoted a good quality of life. The service had an advanced understanding of people’s information and communication needs. People’s needs and preferences were assessed before they came to the service and these were regularly reviewed. Care plans gave guidance to staff about what people could do for themselves and how best to provide support.

People were supported to follow their interests and take part in a wide range of meaningful activities.

People were supported to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet and specific dietary needs were monitored. People accessed routine and specialist healthcare services as needed.

People were well supported and treated with dignity and respect. They were involved as partners in their care and relatives were included if people consented. People and their relatives were positive about staff.

Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities and the service was consistently managed and well-led. Systems were in place to monitor and review quality and performance.

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 October 2018).

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.

Newbridge Hill is registered to provide accommodation and support for up to five people with sensory and associated needs. The services provided are independence training that includes risk assessments, self-medication, cooking skills, household management, money management and any other training that will assist independent living. At the time of our inspection there were five people living at the service.

A registered manager was in post at the time of inspection. 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.

Risks to people were assessed regularly and where required a risk management plan was in place to support people manage an identified risk and keep the person safe.

Safe recruitment procedures ensured all pre-employment requirements were completed before new staff were appointed and commenced their employment. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of abuse and knew the correct action to take if they were concerned about a person being at risk.

The provider understood the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and was aware of their legal responsibilities. Nobody within the service was subject to a DoLS authorisation.

People were supported by well trained staff that had sufficient knowledge and skills to enable them to care for people.

People were supported to maintain good health and had access to external health care professionals when required.

We had very positive feedback about the caring nature of the staff from people. Staff communicated with people in a meaningful way, taking an interest in what people were doing. People were supported by a committed small team who were passionate about their role.

The service was responsive to a person’s needs. People received good care that was personal to them and staff assisted them with the things they made the choices to do. We observed that people appeared content living in the service and they received the support they required.

Care records were personalised and described how people preferred to be supported. People undertook activities personal to them. People had access to a wide range of individualised, meaningful activities.

The provider had systems in place to receive and monitor any complaints that were made. The service had not received any formal complaints in the last twelve months.

Staff felt well supported by the deputy and registered manager. Staff were confident and knowledgeable of all aspects of the service.

People were encouraged by the provider to provide feedback on their experience of the service in order to monitor the quality of service provided. People had access to their own keyworkers. The keyworker had a special responsibility for the overall well-being of the person.

To ensure continuous improvement, the Head of Service conducted regular compliance audits. They reviewed issues such as; health and safety, incident and accident reports, risk assessments, fire safety, maintenance and the environment. The observations identified good practice and areas where improvements were required.

Staff were knowledgeable about each other's support. We saw that all interactions were respectful and patient. There was a relaxed, pleasant atmosphere during our visit. People also told us that they felt safe at this service.

Staff received training in safeguarding. One staff we met told us it "gave the team confidence" and "enabled them to raise concerns if any arose and to keep people safe".

People we met told us they were happy living at this service. One person proudly took us to their room and showed us how they had all their possessions around them. They told us they were "happy here".

Care records were person centred and accurately described each person's needs and preferences. People were also supported to maintain their independence.

The service had a system whereby complaints and concerns were listened to and acted upon immediately, in order to improve quality.

We used a British Sign Language [BSL] interpreter throughout the inspection to ensure that that we could communicate properly with the people using the service and the staff who were deaf.

We observed care workers and people using the service communicating using sign language. We saw that this was open and both people using the service and the care workers were relaxed and happy, we saw a lot of laughter.

One person who lives at the service told us, "I am very happy now, I used to be sad, and'another said'I like living here and feel safe".

The people living at the home assisted with the cleaning of the communal areas, cooking and ensuring that their personal space was clean and tidy and their washing was done. One person told us, 'We have a roster to do the cleaning, it works great".

We saw training records. One care worker told us, "There is a lot of training available, I enjoy this and it helps to improve practice.'

On the day of the visit both the people using the service and the staff were very excited as they were preparing for a holiday. One person told us, "We all agreed to go together on holiday. I'm really excited".