• Care Home
  • Care home

Flexible Support Options Limited (Pengarth)

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Windmill Hil, Ellington, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 5HU (01670) 860475

Provided and run by:
Flexible Support Options Limited

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 12 July 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

Pengarth is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Pengarth is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection. We also wanted to ensure people were prepared for our visit.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the information we held about the service and contacted the local authority for feedback. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spent time observing care. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We spoke with 1 person, 3 relatives and 1 visiting healthcare professional about their experience of care and support at the service. We spoke with 4 staff members including the registered manager, operations manager and care staff. Care records for 3 people were reviewed, multiple medicines records, and records relating to the management of the service.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 12 July 2023

About the service

Flexible Support Options (Pengarth) provides accommodation and personal care to a maximum of 5 people. At the time of the inspection 5 people with a learning disability and autistic people were receiving support.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Support: 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.

Staff supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision-making. People’s relatives helped people express their needs and wishes. Multidisciplinary healthcare teams were involved in decisions about people’s health.

Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community. Staff knew people well and provided person-centred care. Care documentation included clear guidance on how to care for people.

Medicines were managed safely. ‘When required’ medicines had clear guidance on when to administer these medicines when people might not be able to ask for this themselves.

Right Care: Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse.

Risks to people were assessed and regularly reviewed when people's needs changed. The building was well maintained, and health and safety risks were assessed.

The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people's needs and keep them safe. People were supported by staff who had been trained in how to care for their specific needs.

Right Culture: There was a positive culture in the service. Staff said the management team were supportive. Relatives thought the service was managed well and that people enjoyed living there.

People, their relatives, advocates and healthcare professionals were involved in planning their care.

Quality assurance and monitoring systems were in place and effective. The registered manager was continuously improving the service.

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 April 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service, and the length of time since the last inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.