We carried out a review of the data available to us about Hannahwood Mews 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 Hannahwood Mews, you can give feedback on this service.
Hannahwood Mews is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 10 younger adults with significant physical disabilities and associated sensory, communication and learning disabilities, at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 14 people in one adapted building. All areas of the service were wheelchair accessible.
Hannahwood Mews is situated on the same site as Dame Hannah Roger’s school and is run by the Dame Hannah Rogers Trust.
The service had been developed and designed prior to Building the Right Support and Registering the Right Support guidance being published. However, people using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them. 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 to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence.
The service was a large home, bigger than most domestic style properties. It was registered for the support of up to 14 people. Ten people were using the service. This is larger than current best practice guidance. However, the size of the service having a negative impact on people was mitigated by the building design and its location within the Dame Hannah community. People lived busy lives and this reduced the amount of time they spent in the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People living at Hannahwood Mews received an exceptionally person-centred service. Staff were committed to supporting people to communicate their needs and preferences. People had active and fulfilled lives and were part of the local community. People had opportunities to attend a wide range of clubs, events, exercise and therapy classes at the service. There were lots of outings and community events in the local area. A relative who gave feedback said, “We are fortunate to be able to access such an inspiring and innovative organisation.”
People’s needs were thoroughly assessed and care plans were extremely detailed. Care and support was planned proactively in partnership with people and their families, where appropriate. Staff were highly responsive in identifying people’s needs and ensured they were supported in the best way possible.
People benefited from compassionate support provided by a kind, committed and caring staff team. The provider had received feedback from a relative, which stated, "Care and support is second to none.” Staff recognised the importance of family and friends and helped people maintain these important contacts.
People's risks were understood and managed well. People were protected from discrimination and abuse because staff understood how to safeguard them. Staff had the skills and knowledge to support people safely and effectively.
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.
People health and communication needs were fully met as they had access to qualified healthcare professionals who were employed by the service. They were also supported by a wide range of external health and social care professionals.
The service was well led by a committed management team. They used effective checks and audits to identify areas for improvement and develop the service.
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 22 May 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.
The service is registered to provide support with accommodation and nursing care for a maximum of 14 people. Hannahwood Mews is located on the same site as Dame Hannah Rogers’ school and is run by the Dame Hannah Rogers Trust which is a charity organisation supporting children and adults with physical and learning disabilities.
The home had a registered manager. 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 a legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
This service was registered in March 2015 and this was its first inspection.
This inspection took place on 17 March 2017 and was unannounced. At the time of our inspection there were 8 people living in Hannahwood Mews. The service met people’s different needs by offering full time nursing care and temporary respite care. People using the services had a range of needs. All the young adults who were living at Hannahwood Mews at the time of our inspection had learning disabilities and highly complex physical disabilities and healthcare needs. People living at the service were widely referred to by relatives, staff and the registered manager as ‘young adults’ and we have therefore used this on a number of occasions through the report.
Some comments made by relatives included “It is as caring as any residential establishment can be. All the staff are respectful towards [name of person] and his needs and all care is carried out with his needs and privacy in mind. The staff seem to know when [name of person] needs his own space or when he needs some extra care and this is provided” and “The service in the Mews is well run, caring and above all safe.”
Strong values underpinned the work carried out at Hannahwood Transition. The Trust’s mission statement was “Our mission is to empower, advocate and enrich the lives of children and adults with disabilities”. Their core values included “Providing education, training, advocacy, work opportunities, care and other support services for children, young people and adults in needs, their families, carers and associated professionals”.
The service achieved these values through the constant striving for excellence and improvement, through continually seeking people’s views and enabling people to have happy lives filled with activities and the promoting of skills development. The service had cultivated a warm, welcoming and inclusive culture where people and staff felt encouraged to express themselves and share their views. All levels of staff focussed on delivering a clear vision of working alongside people to enrich their lives.
The Trust worked hard to create strong links with the local community in order to increase awareness and integration. The Trust held strong values relating to providing people with disabilities with as many opportunities as possible in order to improve their lives. Every relative and healthcare professional we spoke with told us how impressed they were with the caring nature of the staff and their attitudes. They all spoke of the staff with high admiration and praised them for the caring ways in which they supported people. Staff told us that being caring and kind was a fundamental requirement of their job and was their focus. During our inspection we saw positive and caring interactions between people and staff. Staff knew people’s needs, preferences, likes and dislikes and spoke about people with respect and admiration.
The Trust and Hannahwood Mews worked hard to ensure people felt empowered and involved in all aspects of their care. The service was continually working towards improving the service and making it more person centred. They had recently introduced a number of projects, procedures, forms and meetings focussed on gaining people’s views about the service. People were involved in creating a monthly newsletter which celebrated people’s interests and achievements. A strong focus was on improving people’s skills, enabling their independence and empowering them to have a voice. People were supported to understand and make decisions through the use of different communication methods and devices.
Staff knew how to recognise possible signs of abuse which also helped protect people. Staff knew what signs to look out for and the procedures to follow should they need to report concerns. Safeguarding information and contact numbers for the relevant bodies were available. Staff told us they felt comfortable raising concerns and felt these would be dealt with appropriately.
People were protected from risks relating to their health, mobility, medicines, nutrition and behaviours. Staff had assessed individual risks to people and had taken action to seek guidance and minimise identified risks. Where accidents and incidents had taken place, these had been reviewed and action had been taken to reduce the risks of reoccurrence. Staff supported people to take their medicines safely and as prescribed by their doctor.
Recruitment procedures were in place to help ensure only people of good character were employed by the home. Staff underwent Disclosure and Barring Service (police record) checks before they started work in order to ensure they were suitable to work with people who were potentially vulnerable.
Staffing numbers at the service were sufficient to meet people’s needs and provide them with the care and support they required. Staff had the competencies and information they required in order to meet people’s needs. Staff received thorough and ongoing training as well as regular supervision and appraisal. The service had a strong focus on investing in staff and encouraging them to develop in their careers. Staff were provided with and encouraged to undertake further training in areas which interested them. This helped ensure each staff member was able to reach and sustain excellent standards of care for people. It also ensured people who lived in the service were supported by staff who were continually enabled to learn, progress and specialise in order to help them in their daily lives.
Staff had a good understanding of the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and put it into practice. Where people had been unable to make a particular decision at a particular time, their capacity had been assessed and best interests decisions had taken place and had been recorded. Where people were being deprived of their liberty for their own safety the registered manager had made Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard (DoLS) applications to the local authority.
People were supported to have enough to eat and drink in ways that met their needs and preferences. People were supported to make choices about what they wanted to eat and food was presented in ways which met people’s individual needs.
The service was responsive to people’s varied and changing needs. People’s care plans contained highly detailed information about their histories, interests, individual needs and preferences. These were regularly reviewed with people and their relatives. People had access to a wide range of activities which met their social, emotional, physical and intellectual needs. People took part in a number of activities on site, at another of The Trust’s sites and out in the community. People were encouraged to suggest further ideas for activities and were supported to follow their passions and wishes.
There was open and effective management at Hannahwood Mews. The registered manager, senior management, deputy managers and team leaders led by example to ensure best practice was followed, outstanding performance was recognised and the values of the service were delivered. People, relatives, staff and healthcare professionals were asked for their feedback and suggestions in order to improve the service. There were effective systems in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the care and support being delivered.