We carried out a review of the data available to us about Resolve on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Resolve, you can give feedback on this service.
Resolve [at Low House] provides high quality accommodation and personal care to adult males with learning disability. At the time of this inspection, six people used the service, although another person was transitioning to the service so it would be fully occupied.
People’s experience of using this service:
The service maintained its overall rating of outstanding awarded at the last inspection in 2017 and also in 2015. The service continued its drive for excellence across all areas and achieved national recognition for its work in developing people and the whole staff team. People, relatives, health, education and social care professionals continued to describe the service as exceptional and said care was extremely person-centred and responsive.
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.
The registered manager, staff and people living at the service were enthusiastic about the inspection visit and were eager to share their experiences. People wanted to show us their pride in their achievements and many staff who weren't on duty during our visit, took the time to write to us with moving statements of the personal and professional support they were given.
There was a planned and comprehensive approach to risk taking which meant people were enabled to remain safe but yet experience the everyday activities we all aspire to such as going to a football match, cooking for our "family" and meaningful work in the community. Many people at the service had never had these opportunities before moving to Resolve.
The service went above and beyond to ensure people knew and understood their rights. The had developed easy read information leaflets with symbols to enable people to understand complex concepts such as Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). This showed people were empowered to be an equal partner in their care and support.
Staff were exceptionally kind and caring towards people and had developed very strong relationships with them. Staff had undergone additional training to meet the specific needs of the people they supported and the service had developed an innovative leadership programme with the national learning organisation. People had a say in who supported them to enable them to have confidence in their immediate network of support when out in the community.
The service was exceptional at helping people achieve positive outcomes, building confidence, independence and helping people develop and restore life skills.
There was an excellent range of activities and opportunities available to people. People had been introduced to new activities, which had led to the development of hobbies, friendships and opportunities for volunteering. Through exceptional care and support planning people had gained skills and meaningful qualifications.
Since our last inspection, improvements continued to be made to enhance internal aspects of the home, and externally within the grounds with new standout features.
The registered manager and the wider leadership team were inspiring and dedicated to providing support which met the highest of standards. They strived for excellence through collaboration; they were passionate and dedicated to providing an outstanding service to people.
The service had achieved National Autistic Society accreditation since our last visit, the only residential service in the North East to achieve this status and was a finalist in the national Skills for Care prestigious awards in recognition of their commitment to developing talent, and unwavering commitment to providing high quality care. The provider was rewarded by being included in the 2019 Parliamentary review of residential care that showcased the best practice within their field.
There was a golden thread of professionalism throughout the service. Staff were empowered to develop their careers and have self awareness, communication at all levels was excellent and the approach to risk and safeguarding was critically analysed daily by highly aware staff.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection:
At the last inspection the service was rated outstanding [published June 2017].
Why we inspected:
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up:
We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
Resolve provides care and accommodation for up to seven people with a learning disability. On the day of our inspection there were six people using the service.
The service had a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like 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 last inspected the service in November 2014 and rated the service as ‘Outstanding’ overall. At this inspection we found the service remained ‘Outstanding’ and met all the fundamental standards we inspected against.
Accidents and incidents were appropriately recorded and risk assessments were in place. The registered manager understood their responsibilities with regard to safeguarding and staff had been trained in safeguarding vulnerable adults.
Appropriate arrangements were in place for the safe administration and storage of medicines.
The home was clean, spacious and suitable for the people who used the service and appropriate health and safety checks had been carried out.
There were sufficient numbers of staff on duty in order to meet the needs of people who used the service. The provider had an effective recruitment and selection procedure in place and carried out relevant checks when they employed staff. Staff were suitably trained and received regular supervisions and appraisals.
The provider was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and was following legal requirements in respect of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).
People were protected from the risk of poor nutrition and staff were aware of people’s nutritional needs. Care records contained evidence of people being supported to attend visits to and from external health care specialists.
People who used the service and family members were complimentary about the standard of care at Resolve. Staff treated people with dignity and respect and helped to maintain people’s independence by encouraging them to care for themselves where possible.
Person-centred care was at the heart of the service. Health and social care professionals said the service was “highly supportive” of people who used the service and “worked effectively” on people’s behalf.
Management and staff were able to talk in great detail about each person they supported and the best way to support them. People who used the service told us about how they could make choices and do what they wanted to do.
The service was flexible and responsive to people’s individual needs and preferences. Staff planned people’s care and support proactively and in partnership with them.
The provider had developed innovative and creative ways to provide people who used the service with training and education opportunities. People were supported to play a key role in the local community and were encouraged and supported to engage with groups outside of the service.
The provider had an effective complaints procedure in place and people who used the service and family members were aware of how to make a complaint.
The registered manager demonstrated how they had sustained outstanding practice, development and improvement at the service, and the service had a strong emphasis on continually striving to improve. The registered manager said, “We really want to influence national practice” and spoke positively about the service, describing their role as, “Balancing safety with a happy life and a positive outcome” for the people they supported.
The provider worked in partnership with other organisations to make sure they were following current best practice and providing a high quality service. Health and social care professionals told us the service was “well led”, “one of the best led I have come across” and “forward thinking in how services should be developed.”
The provider had innovative ways of keeping staff up to date with new developments and staff talked about the importance of being good role models for the people who used the service.
People who used the service were empowered to voice their opinions and felt listened to.
The provider gathered information about the quality of their service from a variety of sources and was meeting the conditions of their registration.
This inspection took place on 24th and 25th November 2014 and was unannounced. Low House provides care and accommodation for up to seven people. The home specialises in the care of people who have a forensic learning disability and supported men with a range of criminal offences. Some people who used the service were detained under the Mental Health Act 1983.
On the day of our inspection there were a total of six people using the service.
The home had a registered manager in place. 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.
On the day of the inspection there was a calm and relaxed atmosphere in the home and we saw staff interacted with people in a very friendly and respectful manner. One person told us, “I love living here, I feel very safe and I don’t want to leave.” Another said, “For the first time in my life I feel safe.”
The six staff we spoke with described the management of the home as open and approachable. Throughout the day we saw that people and staff appeared very comfortable and relaxed with the registered manager on duty.
People had their psychological and mental health needs monitored. There were regular reviews of people’s health and the service responded to people’s changing needs. People were assisted to attend appointments with various health and social care professionals to ensure they received care, treatment and support for their specific conditions.
People said staff were, "Great” and “mint”. On three recent surveys we saw a professional reported that the service was “focused on providing a person-centred care and it achieved great results.”
A clinician quoted, “This is an impressive provider that delivers an excellent service.” Another quoted, “People are involved in decisions, and there is a good range of activities and educational opportunities. The ethos of care is very positive.”
We saw people’s care plans were very person centred and clearly described their care, treatment and support needs. These were regularly evaluated, reviewed and updated. The care plan format was easy for people who used the service to understand by using of lots of pictures and symbols. We saw lots of evidence to demonstrate that people were involved in all aspects of their care plans. For example, one person told us, “I help my key worker to keep mine up to date and I am always fully involved when I have my review meeting with my consultant and social worker.”
All staff we spoke with said they received appropriate training, good support and regular supervision. We saw records to support this.
Staff had received training in how to recognise and report abuse. We spoke with four staff and all were clear about how to report any concerns. Staff said they were confident that any allegations made would be fully investigated to ensure people were protected.
Throughout both days we saw staff interacting with people in a very caring and professional way.
We noted that throughout the day when staff offered support to people they always respected their wishes. For example, during lunch, everyone was asked what they would like to eat and were offered various choices for people to choose from.
We saw activities were personalised for each person. People also made suggestions about activities and outings during house meetings. Where necessary additional staff were provided to enable people to access community facilities appropriate to their ages and abilities.
All people received one to one support for their health, personal care and support needs, and this enabled regular community support on a daily basis. For example, work placements, education and leisure. On the day of our inspection, two people were escorted to go football training and others were working in the gardens.
People received a wholesome and balanced diet in pleasant surroundings and at times convenient to them.
We saw the provider had policies and procedures for dealing with medicines and these were adhered to.
The provider had an effective pictorial complaints procedure which people felt they were able to use.
We saw people who used the service were supported and protected by the provider’s recruitment policy and practices.
The home was immaculately clean and well maintained, and equipment used was regularly serviced.
The provider had a quality assurance system in place, which was based on seeking the views of people, their relatives and other health and social care professionals. There was a systematic cycle of planning, action and review, reflecting aims and outcomes for people who used the service.
We found that people were actively supported and encouraged to make decisions about all aspects of their life and this included working with the staff to decide how the home would be developed. From our observations we found that staff worked in ways that effectively supported the people to deal with issues associated with their behaviour and to understand how to reduce any risks that arose from this behaviour. We also saw that staff treated individuals with a great deal of humanity as well as empathy.
We found that the provider had an effective system for monitoring the service and this led to them constantly looking at how to improve what was offered. We found that the home was maintained to a high standard. The people who used the service were supported to learn decorating and gardening skills and they were encouraged to put these into practice in the home.
People told us they were happy with the care and support they were receiving. One person said "I like it better here, it is much quieter and I go out a lot more now' and another said "I like playing football and I can play for a local team.'
All the people that we spoke with told us they felt safe with the carer's employed by the service. One person said "the staff look after me well here'.
Everyone told us that the staff treated them with respect, respecting their privacy and right to make choices. One person explained to us how they choose to study at a local college to gain qualifications in Maths and English
People told us they were happy with the care and support they were receiving. One person said "I like it better here, it is much quieter and I go out a lot more now' and another said "I like playing football and I can play for a local team.'
All the people that we spoke with told us they felt safe with the carer's employed by the service. One person said "the staff look after me well here'.