The Old Haybarn

The Old Haybarn is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to 7 people with a learning disability and/ or autistic people. The building is converted to provide 7 en suite bedrooms. The building is in a small, gated area comprising of the organisation’s administration building and day service as well as 2 tenanted dwellings.

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

Right Support

The service aims to provide a calm home which supports people to enjoy their life with reduced anxiety or emotional upset. People have access to some assistive technology used to support people to engage in the world around them. For example, mobile phones and tablets.

People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them as staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs.

Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcome. Staff supported people to play an active role in maintaining their own health and wellbeing.

Staff and people cooperated to assess risks people might face. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.

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:

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people's privacy and dignity. Staff understood and responded to people’s individual needs.

People's care, and support plans reflected their range of needs and promoted their individuality, wellbeing and enjoyment of life. People could take part in activities of their choosing at the service or in the wider community and pursue their own interests. Staff received training and support to provide care effectively.

Staff worked in partnership with healthcare professionals to maintain people’s health and wellbeing.

People told us they felt safe with staff. People told us they liked all the staff. Relatives had no concerns about the safety of people. There were policies and procedures regarding the safeguarding of adults and staff knew what action to take if they thought anyone was at risk of potential harm.

Right Culture:

Staff placed people's wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. The stable management and staff team supported people to receive consistent care from staff who knew them well. We observed people receiving compassionate and empowering care which was tailored to their needs throughout the inspection. People and staff were seen to treat each other with genuine regard. A staff member referring to a person they support said, “(Name of person) is an awesome person.”

Staff evaluated the quality of support provided to people, involving the person, their relatives and other professionals as appropriate. Most of the relatives we had contact with were complimentary and positive about the service and the care and support their loved ones received.

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 08 January 2020).

Why we inspected This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led. 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 remained from good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

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 the old haybarn 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.

The Old Haybarn is a converted residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to six people with a learning disability. The service can support up to seven people.

The service was exceptionally well-led. The registered manager’s dedication to a person led approach to supporting people provided a positive model for all the staff. The registered manager and their staff team were passionate and committed in placing people at the heart of the service. Furthermore, the service and the people who lived there played an important and prominent role in the local community. This innovative and well-planned approach to engagement with the public had raised awareness of the service and the people who lived there. This in turn had helped develop people’s skills, knowledge, confidence and understanding.

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 and physical 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.

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’s experience of using this service and what we found

People received personalised care and support specific to their needs and preferences. This had been effective in supporting people to achieve their goals and aspirations and encouraged more freedom for people to learn and grow as individuals. This in turn, had led to people becoming more confident and having fulfilling lives.

People told us they were happy with the care and support they received at The Old Haybarn. Comments from people, their relatives were positive.

People's needs, and wishes were met by staff who knew them well and were passionate about people’s independence. People were respected and valued as individuals; and empowered as partners in their care. Typical of people and relatives’ comments were, “I’m happy, I love it” and “[My relative] is thriving, he’s doing so well”.

People were supported by staff who were kind and caring and who maintained their dignity and privacy and treated them with utmost respect. People were fully involved in the service and had opportunities to give feedback. People told us how they were treated with kindness and respect. We saw there was a positive atmosphere and engaging interaction during our visit. Feedback about the registered manager was exceptionally positive and staff felt very well supported. Staff were well motivated and very proud of the service, and morale was very high.

People felt safe and staff were aware of how to promote people’s safety. Regular checks were in place to ensure staff worked in accordance with training and health and safety guidance adhered to. The environment had plenty of communal space for people to enjoy. People enjoyed the activities that were provided, staff told us there were many opportunities for people to go out and people were living fuller lives.

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.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

The last rating for this service was Good (published 9 May 2017). At this inspection the service has remained Good.

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.

We carried out an unannounced inspection of The Old Haybarn on 3 March 2017.

The Old Haybarn had a registered manager in post. 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 legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were safe at the service. People were protected from the risk of harm as staff were trained in how to identify and respond to concerns of potential abuse. Staff understood their responsibility to report any concerns to the registered manager and knew how to whistle blow to help keep people safe. Staff assessed and managed risks to people's health and wellbeing.

People’s support needs were met, as there were enough numbers of staff on each shift. Appropriate recruitment procedures followed at the service ensured people received care from staff suitable for their role.

People received their medicines safely when needed from staff assessed as competent to do so. Medicines were managed appropriately and regular checks ensured any concerns were identified and resolved promptly. The premises were well maintained and safe for people to use.

Staff were effective in their role as they were trained, supervised and appraised on their performance. Staff were supported to undertake nationally recognised care qualifications and their training was reviewed and updated regularly.

People’s rights were upheld as required under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. Best interest’s procedures were followed when people were unable to make decisions about their care. People's consent was sought and obtained by staff before they received care. Staff respected people’s choices and delivered care in line with their preferences.

People enjoyed the food provided at the service. Staff supported people to have enough to eat and drink. Staff monitored people’s well-being and involved health care professionals to ensure their needs were met.

People were cared for by kind and caring staff. Staff knew people well and understood their individual needs and how they wanted care and support provided. People’s dignity and privacy was respected.

Staff involved people in making decisions about their care. People’s needs were identified and plans were put in place on how to provide their care. Staff regularly reviewed and responded to people’s needs. People enjoyed taking part in a wide range of meaningful activities offered at the service. People’s views about their care were sought and their feedback used to improve the service.

People and staff spoke positively about the registered manager and the way the service was managed. There was an open and inclusive culture at the service. Staff felt valued at the service and their feedback was considered. The quality of the service was assessed and monitored to ensure improvements were made to the care people received.