Archived: Riverside Care Centre

Riverside Care Centre is a residential care home, providing personal care and accommodation for up to 24 people with learning disabilities and/or autistic spectrum disorder. There were 23 people living at the home at the time of the inspection. The home was divided into three separate buildings/houses for accommodation, and a separate building which housed the office. Each house could accommodate eight people over two separate floors with shared kitchens, lounges, gardens and dining room areas.

The service had been registered for several years. The provider was however taking into consideration the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance for the accommodation of people with learning disabilities. 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.

The Secretary of State has asked the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to conduct a thematic review and to make recommendations about the use of restrictive interventions in settings that provide care for people with or who might have mental health problems, learning disabilities and/or autism. Thematic reviews look in-depth at specific issues concerning quality of care across the health and social care sectors. They expand our understanding of both good and poor practice and of the potential drivers of improvement.

As part of thematic review, we carried out a survey with the registered manager at this inspection. This considered whether the service used any restrictive intervention practices (restraint, seclusion and segregation) when supporting people.

The service used positive behaviour support principles to support people in the least restrictive way. No restrictive intervention practices were used.

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

People felt safe at Riverside Care Centre. Staff understood how to keep people safe and embraced team working to reduce potential risks to people.

People and their relatives were placed at the heart of the service and were involved in choosing their care and support, from pre-admission to living in the home. 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 staff team worked hard to promote people’s dignity and prevent people from becoming socially isolated within the home. People were encouraged to be independent and make everyday decisions about how they wanted to live their lives. Respect and dignity were cornerstones of the values upheld by the staff.

People received kind, responsive person-centred care from staff who were well trained, motivated and supported by a registered manager who led the staff team to provide the best care they could. People knew how to raise concerns and provide feedback about the service.

People using the service benefited from a well led service. The service was led by a registered manager and deputy manager, who were supported by a provider committed to improving people’s lives. Partnership working enabled people to maintain their wellbeing.

Rating at last inspection

The last comprehensive inspection report for Riverside Care Centre (published February 2017) and we gave a rating of Good in all areas except well led, which was rated as requires improvement. At this inspection we found the service continued to be Good overall and have rated the service as Good in all areas.

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

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

Riverside Care Centre is registered to provide accommodation and support for 24 people who have a learning disability and who require personal care. On the day of our inspection there were 23 people living in the home. There was no registered manager in post. A manager had recently been appointed and was in the process of applying to register to manage the service. 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 told us that they were safe within the service. Staff knew how to keep people safe and had been trained in safeguarding people. People received their medicines how it had been prescribed and were able to get pain relief when needed.

The provider had adhered to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and ensured that people’s human rights were protected. Staff were able to get the support they needed to meet people’s needs and training was made available.

People were supported in a friendly environment that was warm and nice. Staff were caring and kind towards people. People were able to get the appropriate support to be able to share their views on how they were to be supported.

People were able to make choices as to what they had to eat and drink. People’s privacy, dignity and independence was being respected.

People were involved in the assessment and care planning process and were able to access advocate support when needed. However we found that care plans were not consistently kept up to date and reviews were not carried out regularly.

The provider had a complaints process in place that people were aware of and knew how to use to make a complaint.

People were able to share their views on the service they received by completing a quality assurance questionnaire but we could not see that actions were taken in response to feedback given.

We found that spot checks and audits were taking place but they were not being done consistently enough and were not always effective. We found no evidence to show that the provider carried out spot checks on the service people received to ensure the manager was meeting people’s needs how they wanted.