The Farm House

This unannounced inspection took place on 25 September 2018. At this inspection we found the service was Good overall.

Why the service is rated Good overall:

The previous registered manager left the service at the end of August 2018. There is a manager running the service who is in the process of registration. She is an experienced registered manager who has moved from another home located within the village development. 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 care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

People’s safety was contributed to by staff who had been trained in safeguarding vulnerable adults and health and safety policies and procedures. Staff understood how to protect people and who to alert if they had any concerns. General operational risks and risks to individuals were identified and appropriate action was taken to eradicate or reduce them.

There were enough staff on duty at all times to meet people’s diverse, individual needs safely. The service benefited from a stable and experienced staff team. The provider had robust recruitment procedures. People were given their medicines safely, at the right times and in the right amounts by trained and competent staff.

The service largely remained effective. Staff were well-trained and able to meet people’s health and well-being needs. They were able to respond effectively to people’s current and changing needs. The service sought advice from and worked with health and other professionals to ensure they met people’s needs.

There had been issues with some aspects of the building such as a roof leak, faulty underfloor heating and the absence of door guards which the staff had pursued but were still outstanding.

People were encouraged to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practise.

The service continued to be caring and responsive. The committed, attentive and knowledgeable staff team provided care with kindness and respect. Individualised care planning ensured people’s equality and diversity was respected. People were provided with a range of activities, according to their needs, abilities, health and preferences. Care plans were reviewed by management regularly. Care plans contained up to date information and records demonstrated that risk assessments were reviewed within stated timescales.

The manager, whilst new to the post was well regarded and described as approachable. The quality of care the service provided continued to be reviewed and improved, as necessary.

The Farm House a residential care home situated in Ravenswood Village. The village is a community for adults with learning disabilities run by the charitable organisation, Norwood. People have access to the facilities and services provided in the village. These include a café, swimming pool and horse riding.

The home provides a service for people with learning and other disabilities. Some people are living with dementia and other age related issues. The service is registered to provide care for up to eight people and there were eight people living there on the day of the visit. People were provided with ground or first floor accommodation, according to their physical abilities.

There is a registered manager running the service. 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.

People who live in the service, staff and visitors were kept as safe from harm, as possible. Staff were trained in and knew how to keep people safe from any form of abuse. Staff understood health and safety policies and procedures and followed them to keep people as safe as possible. The service identified any risks and action was taken to reduce them, as far as possible. There were enough staff to look after people safely. The recruitment procedure made sure, that as far as possible, staff were safe and suitable to work with the people who live in the home. Medicines were given safely by properly trained staff.

Staff followed people’s individual care plans and ensured they supported people to maintain their health and well-being for as long as possible. The service responded quickly to people’s changing needs. They sought advice from and worked closely with health and other professionals to meet people’s needs in the best possible way. People’s physical and emotional needs were met to ensure people were able to enjoy their lives as much as they could.

People were helped to have as much control over their lives as they were able and chose to. Peoples’ rights were understood and promoted by the staff and the registered manager of the service. The service understood the relevance of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and consent issues which related to the people in their care. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 legislation provides a legal framework that sets out how to act to support people who may not have capacity to do so.

People’s care was provided by a stable, caring staff team who knew people and their needs well. Staff were well trained, understanding and responsive to changes in people’s needs and wishes. Staff treated people with respect and dignity at all times. They fully understood person centred (individualised) care and met people’s equality and diversity needs. People were provided with a variety of activities, according to their needs, abilities and preferences.

The service was well-led by a supportive and knowledgeable registered manager and deputy manager. The service had an open management style which encouraged people, staff and others to express their views and opinions. The quality of the care provided was regularly monitored by the registered manager. Improvements had been made and further developments were continuing. The formal quality assurance system was being improved to ensure quality audits were completed regularly and monitored any required or completed developments.

Care was planned to meet people's needs and was regularly reviewed to reflect any changes to people's needs. We observed the support people received reflected the assessments.

There were appropriate arrangements in place for the management of medicines. Medicines were kept securely and recorded accurately.

We found the provider had effective systems in place for monitoring the quality of the service. This included obtaining the views of the people who used the service.

We spoke to three staff who were positive about the provider. Staff told us that they received support and supervision regularly. They also had attended induction at start of employment. They felt that there were opportunities to attend other training which was relevant to their work. We also reviewed people and staff documents during visit.