Delrose

Updated 2 December 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.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors 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

Delrose 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. Delrose 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 not a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

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.

We reviewed all the information we received about Delrose since the last inspection. This included reports by local authority and NHS professionals to a large scale safeguarding enquiry. We joined meetings of the enquiry team.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We observed people's care and support in the shared areas of the home. We spoke with managers, staff and people they supported. We spoke by telephone with people’s relatives. We reviewed records relating to people's care and the running of the service. These included care records and staff recruitment records. We reviewed information the provider sent after the inspection. This included regular updates on progress on their improvement plan.

Updated 2 December 2023

About the service

Delrose is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to up to 9 people. The service provides support to people with a learning disability and autistic people. At the time of our inspection there were 9 people using the service.

People’s experience of the 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.

At the time of the inspection, the provider was working to improve the quality of service people received. Visiting professionals from the local authority and local NHS services (ICB) had identified widespread examples of poor and unsafe care. The provider had agreed standards had slipped at Delrose and was cooperating fully with the ICB’s large scale safeguarding enquiry. The provider was working to a thorough, credible improvement plan at the time of inspection.

Right Support

The service did not always support people to have as much choice, control and independence as they could. The service did not always plan care so people’s freedoms were restricted only if there was no alternative. The service did not always support people in a safe, clean, and well-maintained environment. The provider had measures in place to improve people’s support.

Right Care

People did not always receive kind and compassionate care. Staff did not always protect and respect people's privacy and dignity. Staff did not always respond to people’s individual needs. The service did not always have enough suitably skilled staff to meet people's needs and keep them safe. The provider had measures in place to improve people’s care.

Right Culture

Staff were not always responsive in supporting people's needs. Staff did not take all necessary steps to ensure risks of a closed culture were minimised so people received support based on transparency, respect, and inclusivity. The provider had measures in place to improve the culture at Delrose. This included introducing new staff and management who were experienced but did not know the people living at Delrose as well as staff who had worked there for some time.

People were not always supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not always support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; policies and systems in the service supported least restrictive 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 9 December 2022).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about a decline in service quality at Delrose. We decided to inspect and examine those risks and measures in place to reduce them.

Follow Up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next assess the service quality.