Longton Court

Longton Court is a residential care home for up to 7 adults who have a learning disability, autism and/or mental health needs. At the time of our inspection there were 5 people living at the service. Three people were living in self-contained flats and 2 people lived in the main house.

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

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.

Right Support

The service did not always give people care and support in a clean environment. Staff did not always support people with their medicines in a way that achieved the best possible health outcome. People had plans in place to guide staff on how to support them if they became anxious or upset. The service worked with people to plan for when they experienced periods of distress so that their freedoms were restricted only if there was no alternative. 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

Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. Staff and people cooperated to assess risks people might face.

Right Culture

The systems to monitor the quality of the service were not fully effective in ensuring shortfalls were actioned. Staff understood people well and were responsive to their needs. People’s quality of life was enhanced by the service’s culture of improvement and inclusivity. Staff valued and acted upon people’s views.

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 27 March 2020).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

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 changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection. We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well led sections of this report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Longton Court on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance at this inspection. 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.

Longton Court is a residential care home residential care for up to seven adults who have a learning disability, autism and/or mental health needs. At the time of our inspection there were six people living at the service.

Longton Court has four self-contained flats that have their own front door and three double bedrooms in an adjoining property which is the main house. There are two offices, a communal kitchen, lounge, dining room, medicines room, office, log cabin, garden and patio area.

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

Procedures were in place to help protect people from the risk of abuse and staff understood their responsibility with regard to safeguarding people. Risk assessments were in place which provided guidance about how to support people in a safe way.

There were enough staff working at the service to meet people's needs and safe staff recruitment practices were in place. The service sought to learn lessons when accidents and incidents occurred.

Steps had been taken to protect people from the risk of infection. Medicines were managed safely.

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 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 were treated with kindness, care and respect. Emotional support was provided where people displayed anxiety. People were able express their views and make decisions about their day to day support. People's privacy and dignity were respected.

People's records contained information about their preferred methods of communication and staff understood and used these. People appeared comfortable with the staff who were supporting them and happily communicated their views and opinions.

Quality assurance and monitoring systems were in place to help drive improvements at the service. Some of these included seeking the views of people who used the service and others. The service had links with other agencies to help develop best practice.

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 August 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Longton Court on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.

Longton Court provides accommodation for up to seven adults who could have a learning disability, autism and/or mental health needs. At the time of our visit there were five people living at the home. Longton Court has four self-contained flats that have their own front door and three double bedrooms. There are two offices, a communal kitchen, lounge, dining room, medicines room, office, log cabin, garden and patio area.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of this inspection. 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 had mental capacity assessments in place when required the provider involved other professionals to undertake capacity assessments. Two authorisations were in place for people being restricted of their liberty. One application was pending and another was made during the inspection.

Relatives and staff felt people were safe. Staff knew how to identify abuse and knew who to go to should they suspect abuse. People were supported by staff who had pre-employment checks in place prior to starting work in the service.

People were supported by staff with their medicines. Staff had received training to enable them to administer medicines safely. There were suitable staffing arrangements in place to ensure people’s needs were met. The service monitored incidents and accidents which were shared with other professionals when required. People were supported by staff to attend medical appointments and referrals were made if required to specialist health care professionals.

People were supported by staff who received training. The provider supported staff to attend additional training relating to people’s individual needs. Staff had supervisions and appraisals and all staff felt well supported and happy in their roles.

Relatives felt positive about the caring attitudes of the care staff. Relatives felt staff treated people with kindness, respect and with dignity. People and relatives felt there was a good standard of care and all were happy with the service. Staff enjoyed working for the provider and were positive about the support they received from the service and management.

People and their relatives knew how to complain and all were happy with the care and support they received. The service worked in partnership with other agencies sharing information when required.