About the service Stonecroft is a service which provides short term (respite) care to young adults who are living with a learning disability and some complex health conditions. It is registered to accommodate five people at any one time. At this inspection four people were accommodated for respite care. The respite service is accommodated on the first floor of a building that also accommodates a day centre, the service is known to people using the service as the hotel, we will refer to Stonecroft as the Hotel in this report.
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 were kept safe and supported by consistent staff who knew them and their needs well. Staff communicated effectively with each other about people's needs.
People told us they felt safe. People's responses and interactions showed us that they felt comfortable with the staff members supporting them. The service worked hard to promote inclusivity and people's diversity was embraced.
People were provided with a variety of opportunities to go on outings and take part in activities. This included in-house activities, day centres and group outings to encourage socialising and getting to know people.
The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support, by promoting choice, 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. 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.
Thorough recruitment and staff induction was in place to ensure that staff were suitable to work and provide support within the home. Staff worked across Chaos services so that they got to know everyone.
Potential risks to people had been assessed and measures put in place to mitigate these. If accidents or incidents occurred, staff acted to reduce the risk of similar incidents happening again. Medicines were managed safely, and staff maintained appropriate standards of hygiene and infection control. Staff supported people to maintain good health and worked effectively with professionals involved in their care.
The Secretary of State has asked the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to conduct a thematic review and to make recommendations about the use of restrictive interventions in settings that provide care for people with or who might have mental health problems, learning disabilities and/or autism. Thematic reviews look in-depth at specific issues concerning quality of care across the health and social care sectors. They expand our understanding of both good and poor practice and of the potential drivers of improvement.
As part of thematic review, we carried out a survey with the registered manager at this inspection. This considered whether the service used any restrictive intervention practices (restraint, seclusion and segregation) when supporting people.
The service used positive behaviour support principles to support people in the least restrictive way. No restrictive intervention practices were used.
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. (Report published 14 March 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.