The Pastures

Updated 11 November 2022

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.

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 one inspector.

Service and service type

The Pastures 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. The Pastures is a care home with nursing. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a service manager in post who was in the process of registering with CQC.

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 (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

We spoke with five staff members including the deputy manager, the service manager, the provider’s support and development manager, a nurse and a senior support worker. People living at The Pastures were not able to discuss the care and support they received with us. We spoke with two relatives and observed care and support being provided in communal areas.

We looked at four people's care records and associated documents such as medicines records, and four recruitment files. We looked at management records relating to oversight of the service such as improvement plans, staff rotas, incident records and maintenance records.

Updated 11 November 2022

About the service

The Pastures is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care and is registered for up to 13 people. On the day of our inspection visit it was providing care to 11 people with learning, physical and sensory disabilities.

The care home provides accommodation across three adapted bungalows. The service was undergoing a programme of renovation such as new floors, a new activities room and a new sensory room.

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

Right Support: Model of Care and setting that maximises people’s choice, control and independence

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.

Right Care: Care is person-centred and promotes people’s dignity, privacy and human rights

Right Culture: The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives.

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. Staff supported people according to this guidance.

People received safe care from staff who knew them well and understood risks to their health and safety. People received their medicines as prescribed and staff reported and acted upon any errors appropriately.

There were enough staff to keep people safe and they were trained in areas relevant to people’s care. Where agency staff were used, they received appropriate information and training in relation to people’s care.

Staff followed protocols to limit the risk of a spread of infection within the home such as using personal protective equipment (PPE). Some areas of the home required more thorough cleaning.

We have made a recommendation relating to the cleanliness of some areas of the home.

The service manager was visible around the home and led by example, working closely with staff and relatives. Relatives were involved with people’s care and could speak with staff or management if they wished to raise anything.

There were checks in place to show how the service manager oversaw the quality of the service and they put action plans for improvements in place where required.

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 home was rated Good at the last inspection (report published May 2019).

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about staffing and risk management. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns.

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.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The pastures 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.