Archived: Ryde House

Updated 24 July 2015

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection was unannounced and was carried out on 3, 4 and 5 March 2015. The inspection team consisted of three inspectors and a specialist advisor. A specialist advisor is someone who has clinical experience and knowledge of working in the field of mental health and learning disabilities.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the information in the PIR, along with other information that we held about the service including previous inspection reports and notifications. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law.

We met with the 15 people staying at the home and four visitors. We observed care and support being delivered in communal areas of the home. We spoke with 20 members of the care staff, five unit managers, two deputy managers, the counsellor, the registered manager, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and one of the providers. We also spoke with a visiting health professional.

We looked at care plans and associated records for 17 people using the service, staff duty rota records, 10 staff recruitment files, records of complaints, accidents and incidents, policies and procedures and quality assurance records.

The previous inspection took place in December 2013 and there were no concerns identified.

Updated 24 July 2015

Ryde House is a privately owned home, which provides personal care and accommodation for up to 64 people living with learning disabilities. The accommodation complex is split into five separate and independent units each providing support to people with specific learning disability needs. For example, one unit supports younger people who present behaviour that challenges others, while another unit supports older people who are also living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 63 people living at the home.

There was 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 inspection was unannounced and was carried out on 3, 4, & 5 March 2015.

People told us they felt safe; however, we found the provider’s recruitment process did not always ensure that staff who were recruited were of good character and suitable to work with people using the service. We also found that the systems in place to protect people from the risk of infection were not robust and some of the units were not cleaned effectively. By the end of our inspection the provider had taken remedial action to resolve all of these issues.

People and visitors told us they felt the home was caring. Staff were enthusiastic about working with the people living at the home. They were sensitive to people’s individual needs treating them with dignity and respect, and developing caring and positive relationships with them. People were encouraged to maintain their family relationships.

People were supported by staff who had received the appropriate training, professional development and supervision to enable them to meet their individual needs. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and to enable them to engage in activities away from the home environment.

People and their representatives had been involved in the planning and review of their care. Staff used the information contained in the person’s care plan to ensure they were aware of people’s needs. They knew the people they supported well and were responsive to their specific communication styles and knowledgeable about the types of activities they liked to do.

People were encouraged to build and retain independent living skills. Each person was allocated a keyworker who supported them to stay healthy and achieve the goals they had identified. People’s bedrooms were individualised and reflected their personal preferences. They were complimentary about the food and were supported to have enough to eat and drink.

There were suitable systems in place to ensure the safe storage and administration of medicines throughout the home. All medicines were administered by staff who had received appropriate training. Healthcare professionals such as GPs, chiropodists, opticians and dentists were involved in people’s care where necessary.

Staff and the management team had received safeguarding training and were able to demonstrate an understanding of the provider’s safeguarding policy and explain the action they would take if they identified any concerns.

Staff followed legislation designed to protect people’s rights and ensure decisions were the least restrictive and made in their best interests.

People and visitors told us they felt the service was well-led and were positive about the management team. The provider was proactive in promoting good practice, such as engagement through social media and the availability of an in-house confidential counselling service to support staff.

There were systems in place to monitor quality and safety, and the provider sought regular feedback from people in respect of their experiences and the service provided. The provider had assessed the health and environmental risks related to supporting people at the home. Accidents and incidents were monitored, analysed and remedial actions identified to reduce the risk of reoccurrence. There were suitable arrangements in place to deal with complaints.