We carried out a review of the data available to us about Lonsdale Midlands Ltd - Yardley Fields 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 Lonsdale Midlands Ltd - Yardley Fields, you can give feedback on this service.
Yardley Fields is a care home providing personal and nursing care to four people with learning disabilities and/ or autism spectrum disorder at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to five people in one adapted building. The building is all on one level with no steps or stairs inside.
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.
The service accommodated up to five people in line with guidance and provided good sized individual bedrooms and a large shared kitchen diner and separate lounge. Large sliding windows opened out onto an enclosed garden. There were deliberately no identifying signs, intercom or cameras, to indicate it was a care home. Staff were also discouraged from wearing anything that suggested they were care staff when coming and going with people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us that they felt safe in their home environment. Relatives felt confident that their family members were protected from avoidable harm. Staff had an understanding of how to protect people from harm and recognised types of abuse and how to report it.
Possible risks to people had been identified and staff knew how to reduce the risk of harm. There were enough staff on duty to meet people’s needs. People’s medicines were stored and managed safely. Safe practices were completed to reduce risk of infection and keep the home clean.
People and their relatives were involved in ongoing assessment and reviews of their needs. People were supported to choose from healthy food and drink options and eat a balanced diet which reflected individual dietary needs. Staff worked well with external health professionals and followed their guidance and support.
People were cared for in a kind and considerate manner. They were treated with respect and their dignity and privacy were maintained. People were supported to make choices about how they wanted to receive care, their wishes and decisions were listened to and acted upon.
People’s care needs were met in a timely way. Changes to their needs were communicated clearly to the staff team. People were encouraged to maintain their hobbies and interests and set themselves goals and aspirations as part of their activity planning. People and relatives had access to information about how to make a complaint.
The registered manager had a visible presence in the home and promoted an open culture for both people and staff. People’s views and wishes were listened to as well as relatives and all were given opportunities to contribute ideas and feedback about how the service was run. The staff were supported by the provider to carry out their duties effectively by being given suitable induction and ongoing training as well as regular supervisions and appraisals. The management team made checks to ensure that people’s needs were met, and care was delivered in a safe and person-centred way.
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 (and update)
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 13 February 2019) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Yardley Fields on our 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.
233 Yardley Fields Road 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. 233 Yardley Fields provides care and support for a maximum of five people. There were five people living at the home at the time of the inspection.
The home has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.
We last inspected 233 Yardley Fields Road on 25 November 2015 when we rated the service as ‘Good’ in all Key questions. At this inspection we found the service was rated ‘requires improvement’ in two of the five questions and rated ‘requires improvement’ overall. This was because we identified a breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we plan to take at the end of this report.
There was a registered manager in post 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run .
There were systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service provided. However, these systems were not always effective as they had not identified issues we found at our inspection. Processes in place to manage risk were not always consistently managed.
People were cared for by staff who were trained in recognising and understanding how to report potential abuse. Staff knew how to raise any concerns about people’s safety and shared information so that people’s safety needs were met. People received support from staff to take their prescribed medicines as and when required.
Staff understood people’s communication needs so people could be involved in aspects of their care. People were supported to have enough to eat and drink and to manage their health care needs.
People were supported to enjoy a range of activities. People were encouraged to maintain their independence and live active and fulfilling lives. People could maintain relationships that were important to them. Relatives we spoke with felt their family members was well cared for.
Staff were caring and treated people with respect. We saw people were relaxed around the staff supporting them. It was evident that people had developed positive relationships with staff and there was a friendly and calm atmosphere within the home.
People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff who had the knowledge and skills they required to care for people safely and effectively. Staff received the support they needed to carry out their role.
Staff understood the importance of ensuring people agreed to the care and support they provided and when to involve others to help people make important decisions. The provider was aware of their responsibilities regarding the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).
Staff understood their responsibilities in relation to hygiene and infection control. There were systems in place to ask people their views about the service and to listen and respond to concerns about the service.
This inspection took place on 25 November 2015 and was unannounced. The previous inspection was carried out on 18 September 2013 when all the assessed regulations were met.
233 Yardley Fields Road offers long term residential care for up to five people with a learning disability and mental health disorders.
At the time of our 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.
People living in the home were happy with the service provided and were kept safe from abuse and harm because staff were able to identify the signs that would indicate if a person was unhappy and were aware of the actions to take if they had any concerns.
People were supported to receive safe care because there were sufficient numbers of suitably trained and recruited staff to care for people.
People were supported to make decisions about their care where possible and safeguards were in place when they were unable to make their own decisions. This ensured that decisions were made in their best interests.
People received personalised care because staff knew them well and had the information they needed to ensure their privacy and dignity. People were treated as individuals and birthdays and other special days were celebrated in the way they wanted.
People received meals that met their nutritional needs and were supported to receive medical attention when needed. People’s health care needs were monitored and other healthcare professionals were involved when needed.
People were supported to maintain links with their friends and families, go on holiday and undertake activities that they enjoyed doing.
Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service and people were supported to have their voices heard in how the service was developed.
People with learning disability are not always able to tell us about their experiences so we looked at records relating to their care and observed staff caring for them. Throughout the day we saw staff communicating with each person in the way that they could understand.
We saw that people's views and choices were sought and acted upon. Staff spoken with was able to tell us about people's needs and how they ensured that people received care in a way that they preferred.
Medicines were prescribed and given appropriately to the people who used the services.
The needs of people living at the home are met through the provision of sufficient and appropriately skilled staff.
There were systems in place to monitor how the home was run, to ensure people received a quality service. The commissioner said, 'People are actively supported by the home to achieve their optimum functioning.'
We saw that people's needs had been assessed and care plans had been devised to describe how people liked to be supported. Risks to people's health and well being had been identified and measures had been put in place to protect people. Staff we spoke to was able to tell us about people's care needs so that they received support and care in a way that they preferred. Relatives told us they were kept informed about their relative's health so that they felt involved with their relatives care. One relative said 'Staff are always talking to me about her care.'
We saw that systems were in place to keep people safe from harm. A relative told us about their relative and said 'She is very safe.' Staff received a range of training so that they were able to support the people who lived in the home. One person told us 'Staff are nice to me.' There were systems in place to monitor how the home was run, to ensure people received a quality service.
People we spoke with and information we read in care files told us that people are supported to choose how they live their day-to-day lives. We saw that people are actively involved in choosing activities and visits outside of the home and making decisions in how the home is run.
People told us that they have a meeting with their key worker on a weekly and monthly basis. The meetings are used to plan how each person wants to spend their days and arrangements made for any activities or events they want to take part in.
We saw good interaction between people who live in the home and the staff that helped them to meet their everyday needs. There were five women living in the home at the time of our visit one of the women had been admitted to hospital. An example of the close and friendly relationship that had developed between people in the home was seen when the women wanted to go and visit the person in hospital. Information in their care files showed that they had visited her on a regular basis. We also heard people calling each other a friend.
Information available in care files showed that the women take part in activities that help them to express their gender. Activities they had taken part in include pampering sessions, luxurious baths, visiting the hairdressers and choosing how they have their hair styled and having a manicure. People were able to tell us that they had been on holidays, celebrated their birthdays by going to the theatre and concerts for example.