Acorn Close

Updated 29 November 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was undertaken by an inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using, or caring for someone who uses, this type of care service.

Service and service type

Acorn Close 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.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with seven people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, senior care worker and three care staff. We also spoke with a professional visiting the service.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and medicines records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including quality assurance audits were reviewed.

Updated 29 November 2019

About the service

Acorn Close is a residential care home for up to 23 people providing personal care to people living with mental health needs and may also have additional learning disabilities. At the time of inspection there were 23 people living at the home.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People received care from staff they knew. Staff had a good understanding of people's needs, choices and preferences. People were encouraged to make decisions about how their care was provided and their privacy and dignity were protected and promoted. Staff gained people's consent before providing personal care.

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 involved in the planning of their care which was person centred and updated regularly. People were supported to express themselves, their views were acknowledged and acted upon. There was a complaints system in place and people were confident that any complaints would be responded to appropriately.

Staff understood their roles and responsibilities to safeguard people from the risk of harm. People were supported to access relevant health and social care professionals.

People’s medicines were managed in a safe way. People’s risks were assessed at regular intervals or as their needs changed. Care plans informed staff how to provide care that mitigated these known risks.

Staff were recruited using safe recruitment practices. Staff received training to enable them to meet people’s needs and were supported to carry out their roles. Staff were happy working at Acorn Close and were proud of their relationships with the people they supported.

The management team continually monitored the quality of the service, identifying issues and making changes to improve the care.

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 17 January 2017).

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.