Ravenscroft House

Updated 6 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

This inspection was carried out by an inspector on 12 September 2019.

Service and service type

Ravenscroft House is a supported living service which provides personal care.

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 announced. This was to ensure there would be someone at the service when we arrived.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included notifications of events which providers are required to send us. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service and two members of staff including the registered manager.

We reviewed two people’s care records and pathway tracked their care. This is where we checked to ensure they have received all the care they required. We looked at other care records including two people’s medicines records, risk assessments and daily activities. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including staff recruitment, training, accidents and incidents, quality assurance and health and safety management.

After the inspection

We spoke with two members of staff, a social care professional and a health care professional by telephone. We also spoke to two relatives and a member of staff from the day service people attended. The provider sent us further information which we had requested.

Updated 6 November 2019

About the service

Ravenscroft House is a supported living service, providing personal care to people living with learning disabilities and autism. At the time of the inspection, seven people were living at Ravenscroft House.

Ravenscroft House is a large house fitting into the residential area and the other large domestic homes of a similar size. There were deliberately no identifying signs, intercom, cameras, industrial bins or anything else outside to indicate it was a supported living service. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

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 and relatives told us they were very happy with the care and support they received. The staff were exceptionally kind, caring and thoughtful and truly respected people’s privacy, dignity and confidentiality. People were genuinely at the heart of their care and support and they took the lead on decisions about their care, including having a say in which staff were recruited to support them. People were encouraged to be as independent as possible and to develop and retain their independent living skills. Staff were compassionate and sensitive when supporting people with their emotional wellbeing during difficult times of worry and sadness.

Staff knew people exceptionally well including their likes, dislikes, preferences and wishes. They were responsive to people’s care and support needs which enabled people to reach their potential. People enjoyed a variety of activities in the community, which enabled them to develop relationships outside of their home. People and relatives knew how to make a complaint if they needed to and felt confident it would be addressed.

Robust recruitment processes were in place to ensure suitable staff were employed. There were enough staff on duty to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. And ad hoc staff hours enabled people to be supported to attend specific events. Accidents and incidents were investigated by the registered manager to reduce the risk of reoccurrence and identify any learning. Staff understood the provider’s safeguarding policy and referrals were made to the local authority when concerns were identified. Medicines were well managed and staff received regular medicines training.

People were supported to access routine and preventative healthcare services to maintain their health and wellbeing. Staff promptly identified when people were unwell and sought appropriate clinical advice. People were encouraged to choose their own menus and helped with the shopping and cooking. People all had mental capacity to make decisions for themselves and we observed staff obtained consent from people for day to day decisions.

There was a positive, person centred culture within the service which was embedded in staff practice. The registered manager used a range of quality monitoring systems, such as surveys and audits, to help drive improvement. People, relatives and staff spoke highly of the registered manager. Staff felt very well supported by the registered manager who was approachable and available for support and guidance.

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 23 February 2017)

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.