Portland Street

Updated 5 July 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

This was a focused inspection to check whether the provider had met the requirements of the warning notice in relation to: Safe care and treatment, Person centred care, Staffing, Consent and Good governance of the Health and Social Care Act 2008. Regulated Activities Regulations 2014.

As part of this inspection, we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors

Service and service type

Portland Street is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Portland street is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced, and we visited the service on 16/05/2023.

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. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection/follow up

We reviewed staff files and 4 people’s care records. We spoke with 4 staff, reviewed health and safety records, and other records relating to the management of the service. We observed people’s care and support and spoke with 3 people using the service. Following the inspection, we continued to seek clarification and additional information. We spoke with 5 relatives and 2 health care professionals.

Updated 5 July 2023

About the service

Portland Street is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 13 people. The service provides support to people with mental health needs. At the time of our inspection there were 10 people using the service but not all of them were in receipt of a regulated activity.

People's experience of using this service and what we found.

Improvements were noted across the whole service and actions were taken to ensure people’s safety and safeguard people from poor care or inappropriate treatment as far as reasonably possible because staff were vigilant and well trained.

Environmental improvements made since the last inspection meant the service provided a homely, well-maintained environment where equipment was regularly checked to ensure people’s continued safety. The environmental risk assessment did not fully address the potential risks from internal and external stairs. We discussed this with the manager about ensuring the risk assessment was fully updated.

Enough staff were employed to ensure people got the support they needed. Staff were friendly and motivated and understood people’s needs well. Staff trusted their manager and felt able to raise any concerns and their views about changes they would like to see.

The registered manager had a good understanding of the mental health system and was a strong advocate for people to ensure they got their needs met. The mental health teams were very complimentary about the staff team and their knowledge of mental health. They said they monitored people well and made referrals at the right time. Communication with external agencies were described as excellent.

Care records gave a good overview of people’s needs and the records were being reviewed to ensure they reflected the person-centred care provided. A range of social opportunities were provided to improve people’s mental and physical health.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Medicines were managed safely and missed and refused medicines were brought to the attention of relevant professionals to seek appropriate advice.

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.

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 Inadequate (published October 2022). We found breaches of regulations: for safe care and treatment, consent, staffing, person centred care and good governance. Warning notices were served for all the breaches. 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.

This service has been in Special Measures since 30/09/2022. During our inspection on the 16/05/2023 the provider demonstrated that improvements had been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to follow up on the warning notices and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements. 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 changed from inadequate to 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.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Portland Street on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.