We carried out a review of the data available to us about Spring Grove Road on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Spring Grove Road, you can give feedback on this service.
About the service
Spring Grove Road is a care home for up to 5 autistic adults and adults with learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection 4 people lived at the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of right support, right care, right culture.
Right Support: Staff supported people to have the maximum possible choice and independence. Staff focused on people's strengths and supported people to have fulfilling and meaningful lives. People were supported to pursue interests, goals and aspirations. People's freedom was not unnecessarily restricted, and people were not physically restrained. People lived in a safe, clean, well-equipped and well-maintained environment. Staff supported people to take their medicines safely and as prescribed.
Right Care: Staff promoted equality and diversity. They understood people's cultural needs. Staff were kind, caring and polite. They respected people's privacy and dignity. The staff were trained to recognise and report abuse and felt able to speak up when needed. Staff communicated well with people, adapting their approach to meet people's individual needs. People's care was planned, and their needs were met. They took part in a range of meaningful activities and had good relationships with each other, staff and their families.
Right culture: There was a positive and person-centred culture. People were comfortable, happy and safe. They knew the staff well. Families felt the service was open and transparent. They told us people received good quality care and support. The staff were well trained, supported and had the information they needed to understand best practice. The registered manager was experienced, qualified and led by example. People had access to advocates. There were effective systems for monitoring and improving the quality of the service.
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was good (published 14 December 2019).
Why we inspected
We undertook this focussed inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of right support right care right culture. At this inspection, we only looked at the key questions, safe, responsive and well-led. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained good.
We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
For more information, please read the detailed findings section of this report. If you are reading this as a separate summary, the full report can be found on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
Spring Grove Road is a residential care home for adults with learning disabilities. The service can accommodate up to five people. There were five people living there at the time of the inspection. The property is two semi detached houses joined through the garden. One house accommodates two people and the other three people. The service is owned and managed by Voyage 1 Limited, part of the Voyage Care group, a national provider of services for people with disabilities.
The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can 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. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People using the service felt comfortable and felt the service was their home. They enjoyed a range of different activities each day which reflected their interests and how they liked to spend their time. Feedback from people's relatives was positive.
People were treated with kindness and respect. They were able to make decisions about their lives and were offered choices by staff. People were supported to be independent and learn new skills.
The staff were well trained and supported. There were clear procedures and processes and staff had the information they needed to provide effective care and support.
The service was designed like a family home and people were able to personalise this with their belongings. There were improvements to the building and garden which had been designed with the needs of people who lived there in mind.
The service had a registered manager who was familiar with people's needs. Feedback about the manager from relatives was positive. There were effective systems in place for monitoring and improving the quality of the service as well as responding to complaints, incidents and accidents.
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.
The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.
The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The rating at the last inspection of 9 May 2017 (Published 8 June 2017) was good.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
The last inspection of the service was on 7 July 2015 and the service was rated Good.
This inspection took place on 9 May 2017 and the service remained Good.
People appeared happy and relaxed at the service. The staff were kind, caring and supportive. People were given choices and these were respected. Relatives told us that they were happy with the service people received. They told us individual needs were met, the service was well run and the staff were appropriately skilled and were kind.
People's needs were being met. The staff had assessed individual needs and had planned for these. Their care was regularly reviewed and their opinions and wishes were valued and part of care planning. People enjoyed a range of different social activities. People were supported to eat a varied and nutritious diet and they were involved in planning, preparing and shopping for food. People were supported to develop independent living skills and help to keep their home tidy. The staff worked with other professionals to monitor and meet people's health needs.
The staff had the training and information they needed to safely care for people. There were enough staff and they were skilled and competent. Some staff felt they would like more support and did not always feel listened to. We told the regional operations manager about this so they could talk with the staff about how they felt. They were already aware of the situation and were working with the staff team to address concerns people had.
People were cared for in a safe environment. They were supported to receive their medicines in a safe way and as prescribed. The families of people told us they were involved in the service and were able to discuss any concerns they had. They told us these were acted on and they felt people were safe and well cared for.
The provider had systems for monitoring the quality of the service and making changes when needed. The staff maintained appropriate records.
The inspection took place on 7 July 2015 and was unannounced. The last inspection of the service was on 5 September 2014. There were no breaches of Regulation at this inspection.
Spring Grove Road is a care home for up to five adults who have a learning disability. The accommodation is provided in two semi-detached house which are connected via a shared garden. Two people live in one house and three in the other. The home is managed by Voyage 1 Limited, a UK wide company providing social and healthcare to people with learning disabilities. The registered manager left the service in March 2015. The provider has employed an acting manager and was in the process of recruiting a permanent manager at the time of our inspection.
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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
There were appropriate procedures for safeguarding adults and the staff were aware of these.
The risks people were exposed to had been assessed and there were plans to reduce the likelihood of harm.
There were enough staff employed at the home and recruitment procedures were designed to make sure the staff were suitable.
People’s medicines were managed in a safe way.
The staff were appropriately trained and supported. They had the information they needed to carry out their roles.
People’s capacity to consent had been assessed and information about how they made decisions had been recorded. The provider had acted in accordance with their legal requirements under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberties Safeguards because they had applied for authorisation to lawfully restrict people’s freedom to use the community without support.
Peoples’ health care needs had been assessed, monitored and met.
People were given a variety of nutritious and freshly prepared food. Their nutritional needs had been assessed and met.
The staff were kind, considerate and treated people with respect. They showed genuine fondness for the people who they cared for.
People had their needs met in a personalised way. Their needs were recorded and they were able to make choices about their daily lives. People took part in a range of different social and leisure activities and used the local community.
There was a suitable complaints procedure and the provider responded appropriately to complaints and concerns.
There was a positive and inclusive culture at the home.
The provider had systems for monitoring the quality of the service and mitigating against risks to people’s well-being.
Is the service safe?
People we spoke with told us they felt safe in the home. People, their relatives and observations made during our inspection told us staff working at the home were well trained and knew their roles.
People living in the home had assessments of possible risks to their health and welfare and these were reviewed at least monthly.Staff were aware of and understood the Mental Capacity act. [MCA2005]. The provider was meeting the requirements of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards to ensure people who might have limited capacity and place themselves at risk were protected from harm. Staff had followed the relevant application processes. People were looked after and cared for by staff who were suitably qualified, skilled and experienced. We checked staff supervision and training files and found the provider had made arrangements to ensure staff received training and sufficient supervision so that people received care which was safe and appropriate. There was a robust selection procedure in place to ensure staff had the right skills and experience to provide safe care.
Is the service effective?
People's health and social care needs were assessed and they told us staff understood and provided the care and support they needed. People were involved in making decisions about their care wherever possible. We read in care support plans how staff used non-verbal communication to ascertain people's needs and desires. If people could not contribute to their care plan, staff worked with their relatives and other professionals to assess the care they needed.
Is the service caring?
People living in the home told us staff were kind and caring and treated them with respect. They also told us they were offered choices and that staff knew about their preferences and daily routines. People told us staff treated them with respect.
Is the service responsive?
People told us they enjoyed the activities provided. Where people were not able to make decisions about their care, staff worked with their relatives and other professionals to make sure 'best interest decisions' were agreed. When we visited we saw arrangements were in place to carry out an assessment of people's capacity to make specific decisions, if this was necessary. There was evidence staff regularly consulted people who used the service about their care and modified the service where necessary.
Is the service well-led?
The service was well led and provided strong leadership and a positive culture. For example regular surveys ensured people's views were obtained and regular audits ensured that the quality of service was monitored. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities. We saw the provider worked well together with other health and social care agencies to make sure people received the care, treatment and support they needed.
Part of this inspection was to follow up a Compliance Action imposed as a result of the findings of our previous inspection of the service. We found that the home had taken action to address this area and improve the service people received. Improvements included all staff being trained to give people support with medicines, and the monitoring of the storage temperature of medicines
People told us that staff had time to spend with them, and we observed this happening at the service, where staff spent time talking with people in the lounge areas.
However, we found the arrangements for giving people their medication was not sufficient to meet the needs of the people who use the service.
A person using the service said that the food was good and that they were able to choose what they wanted to eat.
People living in the home had access to 'Speak Out in Hounslow' which is a local advocacy service. 'Speak Out' helps represent the views of people who need support to give their opinions about their care and the service in which they live.
Overall, people were very positive about their experiences of living in the home. However, we found some concerns related to support for staff and the security of the premises.