Seaton House

Updated 5 February 2019

The inspection:

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 was 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.

Inspection team:

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type:

Seaton House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

A manager was in post who was registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). 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 manager understood their responsibilities and sent us the information they were required to such as notifications of changes or incidents that affected people who used the service.

Notice of inspection:

This inspection was announced. We gave the registered manager a short period of notice because people who live there were often out at work or engaging in leisure activities. We wanted to be sure they were offered the opportunity to participate in the inspection.

What we did:

Before the inspection, the registered 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. The registered provider returned the PIR and we took this into account when we made our judgements in this report. We reviewed other information that we held about the service such as notifications. These are events that happen in the service that the registered provider is required to tell us about. We considered the last inspection report and information that had been sent to us by other agencies. We also had contact with commissioners who had a contract with the registered provider.

We spoke with five people who used the service and observed how staff interacted with them. We also spoke with two staff members, the registered manager and a visiting social care professional.

We looked at the care records for two people who used the service and we undertook a tour of the premises with a person who lived there. We also looked at records in relation to the management of the service such as quality assurance checks, staff training records, safeguarding information and accidents and incident information.

Updated 5 February 2019

About the service:

Seaton House provides accommodation, care and support for up to nine people who experience learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder.

There were nine people living at Seaton House at the time of the inspection.

The service worked within the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensured that people could 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.

What life is like for people using this service:

People received safe and effective care from staff who understood how to recognise and report issues of concern and potential abuse. They were supported with positive risk taking which, whilst promoting their safety, enabled them to develop their independence. People were actively involved in planning and reviewing the care and support they received.

People received responsive care and support from staff who were well trained and demonstrated the principles of person centred care within their work. People were encouraged and supported to achieve the goals they set for themselves.

People were treated with respect and kindness and their rights were upheld. They were supported to express their views and opinions, which were listened to and acted upon. Staff understood people’s preferences and choices and respected the decisions they made.

Staff had opportunities to develop maintain and develop their skills and knowledge. They were positive in their views about the support and training they received and demonstrated a committed approach to service development.

There was an open and inclusive culture within the home which enabled people who lived there, and staff, to share ideas and work in partnership with each other. People who lived in the home, and staff, expressed confidence in the registered manager and their approach to leadership.

There were clear systems in place to monitor the quality of the services provided and take improvement actions when any shortfalls were identified.

More information is set out in the detailed findings below.

Rating at last inspection:

Seaton House was last inspected on 10 June 2016 and was rated as good overall.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. Seaton House remained rated good overall.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about Seaton House until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.