Archived: Apperley House

Apperley House can accommodate up to ten people and a separate house next door and known as Malvern Crossing can accommodate up to seven people. People who live at the home have learning and physical disabilities. At the time of the inspection, there were sixteen people living at Apperley House.

We found the following examples of good practice.

¿The service had systems in place for safe visiting to allow people to see and speak to their friends and relatives. People were also supported to spend time in the community.

¿ The service was following best practice guidance to prevent visitors to the home spreading COVID-19 infection. The provider had a detailed management of visitors' protocol in place.

¿ Clear plans were in place for those who may be required to self-isolate. For those people who may struggle with isolation additional support would be provided.

¿Staff had received training in the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The service had PPE stations for staff to don and doff (put on and take off) Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Our observations during the inspection confirmed staff were adhering to PPE and social distancing guidance.

¿The provider had ensured staff who were more vulnerable to COVID-19 had been assessed and plans were in place to minimise the risk to their health and wellbeing. The service informed us that they have provisions to support the wellbeing of staff through assistance with mental health and award schemes.

¿ The provider's systems and processes for managing COVID-19 had been reviewed and kept up to date.

Apperley House is a residential care home providing personal care for seventeen people. Apperley House accommodates ten people and a separate house next door and known as Malvern Crossing accommodates seven people. People who live at the home have learning and physical disabilities. At the time of the inspection, there were sixteen people living at Apperley House.

What life is like for people using this service

The home met the characteristics that underpin the 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 was appropriate and inclusive for them.

Some of the people living in Apperley House had a profound learning and physical disability and therefore did not communicate verbally.

Staff were extremely caring, compassionate and attentive to people. People and staff were clearly comfortable in each other's company.

People received safe care. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities for safeguarding people form harm and avoidable abuse. Risk assessments were in place and risk management plans were balanced and realistic. Staff recruitment procedures ensured that appropriate pre-employment checks were carried out.

Safe systems were in place to ensure that people received their medicines when they were needed.

Staff received sufficient induction, supervision and training to make sure they were effective in their roles.

People were offered choices and supported to make decisions about their day to day care and routines. Staff knew people really well and were responsive to changes in body language, gestures and nonverbal communication.

People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests. This was supported by the provider’s policies, vision and organisational values.

The provider had quality assurance systems in place to monitor the running of the home and the quality of the care being delivered.

There was an open and transparent culture within the service. Complaints, accidents and incidents were analysed, action was taken to reduce the risk of them happening again.

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

Rating at last inspection

Good (report published June 2017)

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.

Apperley House is a care home providing accommodation and personal care for 17 adults with a learning disability, an autistic spectrum condition and/or a physical disability. Support is provided from two houses that are located on the same plot of land; Apperley House and Malvern Crossing. When we refer to Apperley House in this report, this includes both buildings as they are registered as a single location with us. There were 17 people living at Apperley House during our inspection.

There was a registered manager in post at Apperley House. 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.

The service was safe. Risk assessments were implemented and reflected the current level of risk to people. There were sufficient staffing levels to ensure safe care and treatment to support people. Staff had a good awareness of safeguarding policies and procedures and felt confident to raise any issues or concerns with the management team. The registered manager had carried out the relevant checks to ensure they employed suitable people at Apperley House

People were receiving effective care and support. Staff received appropriate training which was relevant to their role. Where required, the service was adhering to the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) or Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). The environment had been adapted to meet the needs of people living at the home. People were supported to personalise their living spaces.

The service was caring. People and their relatives spoke positively about the staff at the home. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of respect and dignity and were observed providing care which maintained peoples dignity.

The service was responsive to people’s needs. Support plans were person centred and contained sufficient detail to provide consistent, high quality care and support. People were supported to engage in a range of activities based on their preferences and interests. There was a complaints procedure in place and where complaints had been made, there was evidence these had been dealt with appropriately.

The service was well-led. There was an experienced registered manager working at the service. Staff, people and their relatives spoke positively about the registered manager and the management team. Quality assurance checks and audits were occurring regularly and where issues had been identified, action had been taken to address them. The registered manager and staff were aware of the vision and values of the service and worked hard to provide a service which was person centred for each individual.

We examined the care of two people in detail. This included reading their care records, speaking to staff and observing staff interacting with the person. We found care plans and risk assessments were in place for all their assessed needs. Care plans reflected what staff told us about people's needs.

A safe system was in place for the management of people's medication.

The registered manager and senior members of staff told us they had enough staff on duty to meet the needs of people in relation to their care and for people to have taken part in social activities.

People were able to be involved in choosing food options that met their needs, culture requirements and preferences.

Apperley House and Malvern Crossing had adaptations in place to assist staff in meeting people's needs and people and their representatives were able to choose colour schemes for their individual bedrooms.

Staff had access to training to make sure they were skilled and knowledgable in caring for people who used this service.