Nevin House

Updated 21 January 2025

Date of Assessment: 04 February to 06 February 2025. Nevin House is a residential care home for people with a learning disabilities and autistic people. This inspection was prompted due to aged rating, we also received some information of concern from the Local Authority. We have assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.

We identified 5 breaches of legal regulation in relation to safe environments, staffing, person centred care, consent and governance. The provider did not have effective governance systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service. The service did not always ensure recommendations to learn and improve were embedded. Robust plans were not always in place to support people to manage risks effectively. Facilities and equipment were not always safe and well-maintained, ensuring risks to people were mitigated. Staff did not always receive appropriate training to carry out their role effectively and safely. Medicines were not always stored, administered and managed safely. The provider took immediate action to make improvements around training and environment we found were required at this inspection. People were not always involved in the planning of their care. Staff told us they enjoyed their roles and could contact leaders if they needed support. People had access to activities and were supported by regular staff.

In instances where CQC have decided to take civil or criminal enforcement action against a provider, we will publish this information on our website after any representations and/ or appeals have been concluded.

We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.

Updated 21 January 2025

During our assessment we observed supportive and kind interactions between people and the staff supporting them. Staff recognised when people were becoming anxious or distressed and took action to reduce this. Not everyone in the service was able to verbally communicate with us, so we spent time observing people’s experience and spoke with relatives.

Relatives told us staff treated their loved one with kindness and respect and that they were asked their views on the service. One relative told us, “Well, they (Nevin house) let me know what’s going on, so I do know what they’re doing from time to time”. Relatives told us there were always enough staff who understood people’s needs, although we found people’s choices were limited at times around how they spent their time due to staffing. One relative told us, “I can’t fault the staff in the house, because they’ve been brilliant.” Relatives were positive about the standards of care and were confident their family members were safe and well looked after. While relatives expressed general satisfaction with people’s care and treatment, our assessment found elements of care did not meet the expected standards.