We carried out a review of the data available to us about Community Places-Clifton Drive on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Community Places-Clifton Drive, you can give feedback on this service.
Community Places - Clifton Drive is a care home providing personal care to up to 16 people. The service provides support to people with mental health conditions and some people also had a learning disability. At the time of our inspection there were 10 people using the service.
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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support: Model of Care and setting that maximises people's choice, control and independence
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. Staff were trained in safeguarding to keep their knowledge of their responsibilities up to date. The registered manager reported any allegations to the local authority safeguarding team and reviewed safeguarding investigations, accidents and incidents and feedback on the service to improve. Health and safety checks were carried out of the premises and equipment to make sure they were safe. The premises were clean, tidy and hygienic and staff followed current infection control and hygiene practice to reduce the risk of infections.
Right Care: Care is person-centred and promotes people's dignity, privacy and human rights
People received the right support in relation to risks, such as those relating to mental health conditions and learning disabilities. There were enough staff to support people safely and staff knew people well. The provider checked staff were suitable to work with people through recruitment checks. Staff received training in infection control practices. We made a recommendation about medicines practices.
Right Culture: The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives
The service was managed well and the registered manager was experienced and understood their role, as did all staff we spoke with. The registered manager oversaw the service with regular checks and reviews to ensure people received good quality care. We made a recommendation about strengthening medicines audits. Communication with people, relatives and staff took place and feedback was used as part of improving the service. Staff felt well supported. Care was provided in a person-centred way. The provider worked with local health and social care services to ensure people received the care they needed.
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 25 December 2019).
Why we inspected
We received concerns in relation to the management and people’s care needs. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.
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 remained good based on the findings of this inspection.
We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Community Places-Clifton Drive on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
Community Places – Clifton Drive is a 15 bedded service providing long stay care and respite, to people with complex learning disabilities. There are six self-contained flats and nine individual rooms all with en-suite facilities. There are communal lounges, dining areas, relaxation rooms and interactive rooms. The service is in Sprotbrough, which is near to Doncaster town centre. At the time of our inspection there were 10 people using the service.
The service was bigger than most domestic style properties. It was registered for the support of up to 16 people. This is larger than current best practice guidance. However. the size of the service having a negative impact on people was mitigated by the building design. There were separate entrances to people's apartments and rooms and people only had access to their part of the building, making each room feel like an individual flat or apartment. There were deliberately no identifying signs, intercom, cameras, industrial bins or anything else outside to indicate it was a care home. Staff were also discouraged from wearing anything that suggested they were care staff when coming and going with people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they felt safe whilst being cared for at Community Places – Clifton Drive. Systems were in place to safeguard people from abuse and staff knew their responsibilities in keeping people from harm. There were enough staff to meet people's needs. Risks to people were assessed and managed. Systems were in place to make sure people received their medicines, which included staff receiving medicine training and regular audits of the system. People told us they always received their medicines at the appropriate times. Staff competency in the safe administration of medicines was checked each year.
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 this practice. The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.
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.
The atmosphere in the home was supportive and caring. People had formed positive relationships with staff and clearly enjoyed their company. People were supported to maintain their independence and staff maintained people's rights to privacy and dignity. Staff supported people to eat and drink enough amounts to maintain their health. There was a great emphasis on encouraging people to eat healthily. Where necessary, staff liaised with health and social care professionals to ensure effective care and support was provided to people.
People and relatives were confident any concerns and complaints would be recognised and investigated. People were given feedback from complaints and the outcome of any safeguarding investigations. Information provided to people met the requirements of the accessible information standard, which aims to make sure disabled people have access to information they understand.
People, relatives and staff provided good feedback about the management of the service. The registered manager had a system of quality assurance checks to ensure the home was meeting required standards and people who used the service were well cared for. Governance arrangements effective and reliable. The service had up to date policies and procedures which reflected current legislation and good practice guidance.
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 21 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.
The service was registered in August 2016 and this was the first rated inspection.
The service did not have a registered manager in post at the time of our 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager had left and a new manager had been appointed and it was their second week in post at the time of our inspection.
Staff were knowledgeable about how to recognise signs of potential abuse and aware of the reporting procedures. Assessments identified risks to people and management plans to reduce the risks were in place. Relatives we spoke with all praised the service and told us people were safe.
Recruitment processes were robust so helped the employer make safer recruitment decisions when employing new staff. Staff had completed an induction at the beginning of their employment. They had access to a varied training programme and regular support and supervision was available to help them meet the needs of the people they cared for.
Most people who used the service required staffing levels of at least one to one and some had two to one staffing. We saw at the time of the inspection these staffing levels were maintained. There was sufficient staff on duty to meet people’s needs. Relatives we spoke with confirmed when they visited there were sufficient staff on duty.
Systems were in place to make sure people received their medications safely, which included key staff receiving medication training and regular audits of the system. Some minor issues were identified which since our inspection have been resolved.
People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and be as independent as possible. We saw staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible.
We saw staff treating people with respect . Relatives we spoke with told us staff were extremely kind, understanding and very caring. Staff demonstrated a good awareness of how they respected people’s preferences and ensured their privacy and dignity was maintained. Staff explained how they maintained this and told us they took account of individuals needs and preferences while supporting them.
Staff we spoke with were extremely knowledgeable on how to meet people’s needs and care plans were in place detailed how to meet people’s needs and were regularly reviewed.
People had regular access to activities and stimulation, as well as regular outings into the community.
There was a comprehensive complaints protocol in place, this informed people and visitors how to raise concerns and how these would be managed. Relatives we spoke with told us they would feel comfortable raising any issues concerns with the management team. However, had never had the need to, they all said they were very happy with the service provided.
There were good systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided. Action plans were implemented when required for any improvements needed and these were followed by staff.
Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities, told us they were listened to and communication was good. There were policies and procedures to inform and guide staff.