• Care Home
  • Care home

101 Brook Street

Overall: Requires improvement read more about inspection ratings

101 Brook Street, Northumberland Heath, Erith, Kent, DA8 1JJ

Provided and run by:
Ambient Support Limited

Important: The provider of this service changed. See old profile

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 3 November 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.

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

This service was inspected by 1 inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

101 Brook 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. 101 Brook 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.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. This included details about incidents the provider must tell us about, such as any safeguarding alerts that had been raised. 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. This information helps support our inspections. We sought feedback from commissioners and the local authority safeguarding team. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 3 people and 3 relatives of people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 3 members of care staff, the registered manager, the deputy manager, and the locality manager. We carried out observations of care provided in the communal areas. We reviewed a range of records. This included 5 people’s care records, 7 staff files in relation to recruitment and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

Overall inspection

Requires improvement

Updated 3 November 2023

About the service

101 Brook Street is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 6 people. The service provides full respite support for a short period of time to adults who have a range of needs including learning disabilities and autistic spectrum disorder, physical disability, and sensory impairment staying. This is not a permanent home for any people using the service. There were 5 people using the service on the first day of our inspection and 6 people on the second day.

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.

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

The service was not able to demonstrate how they were meeting some of the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right culture:

The quality assurance system and processes had failed to identify and correct issues we found at the inspection. However, we found some positive aspects of culture as well. The provider had a system to manage accidents and incidents. There was a management structure at the service and staff were aware of the roles of the management team. The management team worked in partnership with a range of professionals. Staff received support through training, supervision, and staff meetings to ensure they could meet people’s needs. Staff told us they felt supported and could approach their line manager at any time for support. The provider had a policy and procedure for managing complaints.

Right support:

Some people were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service did not support this practice. Some people’s risk management and care plans required review and updating, to reflect their current needs. People were protected from the risk of infection. People were treated with dignity; their privacy was respected, and they were supported to be as independent in their care as possible. People were supported to maintain and develop relationships with those close to them.

Right care:

The service identified people’s information and communication needs. However, some people’s care records were not in line with the Accessible Information Standard. People and their relatives were encouraged to participate in making decisions about their care and support. An assessment of people’s needs had been completed, to ensure these could be met by staff. Staff showed an understanding of equality and diversity. Staff respected people’s choices and preferences.

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 24th October 2017).

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of Right support, Right care, and Right culture.

Enforcement and recommendations

We have identified breaches of 3 Regulations at this inspection, in relation to safe care and treatment, safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment, and good governance. We made one recommendation about Accessible Information Standard.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take, at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.