We carried out a review of the data available to us about Blurton 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 Blurton Road, you can give feedback on this service.
Blurton Road is a small care home for people who may have a learning disability or autism. The service was registered for up to 3 people; 3 people lived there at the time of our inspection.
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support:
People and their relatives told us they felt safe and supported. Risks were assessed and managed to ensure people could safely participate in activities that they enjoyed.
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. People were able to receive visitors without restrictions in line with best practice guidance.
Right Care:
People were safeguarded from abuse and avoidable harm. There were sufficient numbers of suitable staff and the provider operated safe recruitment processes. Staff supported people in line with their individual preferences and agreed care plans.
People were supported to receive medicines safely and were protected from the risk of infection as staff followed safe infection prevention and control practices.
Right Culture:
There was a positive and open culture at the service and systems were in place to provide person-centred care. People and staff were involved in the running of the service and the provider worked in partnership with others to achieve good outcomes for people.
The quality of care was monitored and lessons were learned when things had gone wrong.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Good (published 9 September 2015).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. We completed a focused inspection to review safe, caring and well-led only.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Blurton Road on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
We found the following examples of good practice.
People who used the service were supported to be independent with cleaning their own home as much as possible, and they were proud to do so.
Risk assessments were in place for people considering visits into and outside of the home to reduce risk to them.
People and staff were regularly tested for COVID-19. Visitors were also tested before interacting with people to reduce the risk.
Checks were made on the environment to ensure safe infection control practices were followed.
We inspected this service on 10 August 2015. This was an unannounced inspection. Our last inspection took place in June 2013 and at that time we found the home was meeting the regulations that we checked them against.
Blurton Road is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to three people. People who use the service have a learning disability. At the time of our inspection three people were using the service.
The service had a registered manager. 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.
People’s safety was maintained because risks were assessed and planned for and the staff understood how to keep people safe. An educative approach was used to help people learn how to stay safe and healthy.
People’s medicines were managed safely, which meant people received the medicines they needed when they needed them. People were enabled to administer their own medicines when this was appropriate.
There were sufficient numbers of suitable staff to meet people’s needs and promote people’s safety. Staff received regular training that provided them with the knowledge and skills to meet people’s needs.
People’s health and wellbeing needs were met and people were supported to attend health appointments as required. People could access suitable amounts of food and drink that met their individual preferences.
People’s consent was sought before staff provided care and support. Staff understood how to ensure people’s rights were protected under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) were being followed.
People were treated with kindness, compassion and respect and staff promoted people’s independence and right to privacy.
People were involved in the assessment and review of their care and staff supported and encouraged people to access the community and participate in activities that were important to them.
People’s feedback was sought and used to improve the care. People knew how to make a complaint and complaints were managed in accordance with the provider’s complaints policy.
There was a positive atmosphere at the home and people and staff enjoyed living and working with each other.
The registered manager and provider regularly assessed and monitored the quality of care to ensure standards were met and maintained. The registered manager understood the requirements of their registration with us.
People told us they were involved in the planning of their care and support. We saw that people were offered choices around what they wanted to do and their choices were respected.
We saw people getting the support they had agreed to receive by staff who promoted their independence.
People told us they chose what to eat and drink and we saw that people were supported to eat and drink a healthy and balanced diet.
People were protected against the risk of abuse because staff were aware of how to identify and report concerns about people's safety and welfare. The provider also had systems in place to ensure that staff were suitable to work with the people who used the service.
During our inspection we saw that people were supported to make decisions and were involved in the planning of their care. We saw that people were supported to engage in appropriate community activities and that their independence was promoted.
We observed people receiving care and treatment by staff who had the required knowledge and skills to provide the level of care that people required. Care records were accurate, up to date and were stored securely.
We saw that there was an effective complaints system in place which people using the service and their relatives were aware of.
We saw that there was a system in place to enable people to receive agreed medications should they need them.
134 Blurton Road provides accommodation for up to three people who hope to move into a more independent setting eventually. The service is registered as a care home and is supported by the manager and a staff team who are based at another home nearby. Our visit was arranged at short notice with people using the service and the manager.
During the visit we spoke with the manager, a member of staff and all people living at the home, we also spoke with a representative of the provider. We contacted two family members following the visit to ask them about the service their relatives received.
People told us they could make choices and were involved in the running of the home, they showed us how they organised their day and got involved in domestic tasks within the home. People were clear about their aims and aspirations for the future and how their time at 134 Blurton Road, prepared them for this.
Relatives told us, "We have nothing but praise for the support our relative receives from the manager and the staff. We never thought that our relative could live as independently as they do and can't thank the service enough."