Bainbridge Close

Updated 19 January 2019

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This comprehensive inspection took place on 10 and 11 December 2018. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit. This was because the location is small and we wanted to make sure that staff, the registered manager and the people using the service would be available for our visit. We visited one of the bungalows in Bainbridge Close. As the properties are owned by a housing association our inspection focused on the care provided. We did not assess the safety of the buildings. The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Before we carried out this inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. This included statutory notifications that the provider had sent us in the last year. A notification is information about events that the registered persons are required, by law, to tell us about. Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provide to give some key information about the service, and about the improvements they plan to make. We also made contact with the local authority quality assurance team and local authority safeguarding team for their views on the service.

During our inspection we spoke with the registered manager, two support workers and a senior support worker. The people who used the service were unable to tell us about their experiences so we observed the care and support some people received in their home. We also spoke with the family members of three people living in different sites who were supported by the service.

We reviewed the care records for three people who used the service, including their medication administration records. Records in relation to the management of the service were also reviewed. These included staff recruitment and training records, accident and incident records and the home’s quality auditing systems.

Updated 19 January 2019

Bainbridge Close is a Supported Living Service and provides a domiciliary care service to 15 people living in five different bungalows. Two of the bungalows are adjacent in Bainbridge Close, North Walsham and the other bungalows are in Blofield Heath, Gressenhall and Norwich. The service provides 24 hours care to people who are living with learning and physical disabilities. The service’s registered office is at Bainbridge Close.

The service had been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the CQC guidance, Registering the Right Support, and other best practice guidance. These values included choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism who lived in the home could live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good. There was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

People were kept safe because staff understood safeguarding principles. They conducted robust risk assessments and ensured that identified risks were mitigated.

Medicine management was safe and steps had been taken to minimise the risk of errors.

People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff that had been recruited safely and had checks undertaken to ensure they were suitable for their role. Staff were trained and competent to fulfil their roles.

People were encouraged to eat a varied diet that took into account their nutritional needs. People were supported to access healthcare professionals when needed to maintain their health and wellbeing.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People received a service that was caring. Staff knew people's needs well and were responsive and supportive. Staff treated people with dignity and respect. Staff promoted people’s independence.

Staff were provided with the necessary support and encouragement to ensure people received good quality care.

Quality assurance systems were effective and the service showed that it learnt lessons and made improvements when things went wrong.

The service sought feedback from various sources to drive improvement and worked well with partner agencies.

Some notifiable incidents had not been reported to the Care Quality Commission.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.