Archived: The Paddocks - Braintree

Updated 14 July 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check 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 took place on 3 May 2017 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of two inspectors.

Prior to the inspection we reviewed the information that we held about the service including notifications of incidents that the provider had sent us since the last inspection. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send by law. We also liaised with the local authority who had been involved in supporting the service since the last inspection.

During the inspection we spoke with one person living at the service, one visiting relative and three members of staff. We looked at a range of documents and written records including the care records of four people living at the service and staff training records. We also looked at information relating; to staffing levels; the administration of medicines and records relating to how safety and the quality of the service were being monitored. To help gain a better understanding of the experience of people living in the service we undertook general observations and spent time observing how staff provided care for people.

Updated 14 July 2017

The Paddocks is a small residential care home which provides accommodation and personal care for up to six adults with learning disabilities who require 24 hour support and personal care. The service comprises of a bungalow with a large garden area to the rear. At the time of the inspection there were four people living in the service.

We last inspected The Paddocks on 20 September and 3 October 2016. During the inspection we found the service was not meeting all of its legal requirements. We found that the care and treatment of people was not person centred and did not reflect their preferences. We also saw that people were not always treated with dignity and respect. The provider had failed to support people to make choices for themselves in line with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act and where choices had been made on the behalf of people it was not always evident that this was done in their best interest or that the least restrictive option had been chosen. Risk assessments were not complete and staff had not completed training which ensured that they had the skills and competence to care for people and keep them safe from harm. We also found that the premises were not monitored and maintained to ensure people’s safety, effective infection control processes were not in place and people’s medicines were always managed safely. The overall rating for the service was 'Inadequate' and the service was placed in 'special measures'. Services in special measures are kept under review. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'All reports' link for 'The Paddocks' on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Following the last inspection the provider took the decision to close the service and people living there are currently in the process of being supported by the local authority to find suitable alternative accommodation. In the interim we undertook an unannounced inspection of the service on 3 May 2017 to check on the safety and well-being of people living in the service. This report only covers our findings in relation to this area.

At the time of the inspection 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.

At this inspection we found that some improvements had been made but these were not sufficient to ensure that people were always kept safe. The outside area of the service continued to be in need of some repairs and general maintenance in order to make it safe for people to access. At the time of the inspection the back garden was ‘off limits’ to people living in the service. We also found that some of the bedrooms continued not to have easy access to hot water.

Staff had been supported to attend safeguarding training which had provided them with an understanding of how to recognise different types of abuse and they were clear about what action they would take if a concern arose.

Risk assessments had been reviewed and detailed people’s current care needs. There were clear guidelines in place which provided staff with information about how to support people to manage potential risks in their daily lives.

There were enough staff available to meet people's needs and keep them safe. The service had a system in place to recruit staff and to ensure that they were safe to work with the people that lived there.

People’s monies were being managed by independent agencies and the service kept clear records detailing any expenditures.

Staff had completed medication training and people received their medication safely.