- Care home
The Pines
Report from 22 May 2025 assessment
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
We visited the service on 4, 5 and 16 June 2025. An adult social care inspector undertook the visits on 4 and 16 June 2025, and a medicine inspector on 5 June 2025. We gave the service 2 hours’ notice of the inspection, as the service was small we needed to know people and staff would be in the service.
The service is a residential care home service providing support for up to 12 adults of all ages with learning disabilities and/or autistic people. During our inspection there were 11 people using the service.
We assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.
The provider had a learning culture and people could raise concerns, which would be listened to, addressed and used to drive improvement. Incidents and accidents were monitored. Risks were assessed and mitigated and systems were in place to reduce abuse and avoidable harm. The facilities and equipment met people’s needs, were clean, well-maintained and risks mitigated. Since our last inspection, the environment had been redecorated and refurbished, this was ongoing. There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience. Staff received training and appraisals to support them to meet people’s needs. Staff managed medicines well and safely.
People were central to the care they received and were involved in assessments of their needs. Staff reviewed assessments taking account of people’s communication, personal and health needs. Care was based on latest evidence and good practice. People had enough to eat and drink and were supported to make decisions to stay healthy. Staff worked with health and social care professionals involved in people’s care for the best outcomes and smooth transitions when moving services. People had access to health professionals when needed and their health was monitored by staff. Staff listened to people’s choices and systems were in place to make sure people understood their care and support so they could give informed consent.
People were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff promoted and protected people’s privacy and dignity. People were treated as individuals and their preferences were respected. People were supported to maintain relationships with family and friends. Staff responded to people’s requests for assistance in a timely way. The provider supported staff wellbeing.
People were involved in decisions about their care. The service was accessible, including the environment and the ways information was provided to people in formats which they could understand. People with protected characteristics were supported. People received fair and equal care and treatment. People had access to the community and were encouraged to play an active part in the community they lived in.
Leaders and staff had a shared vision and culture based on listening, learning and trust. Staff told us they felt supported to give feedback and were treated equally, free from bullying or harassment. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities. There was a culture of continuous improvement with staff given time and resources to try new ideas.
Prior to our assessment we received feedback from a commissioner of the service. During our inspection we spoke with the manager and two regional directors. The provider’s head of quality attended the inspection feedback via video call. We also spoke with the nominated individual on the telephone. We gained feedback from five staff members remotely electronically and by telephone. We reviewed the care records for four people who used the service and reviewed the medicine records for 11 people. We looked at staff training and recruitment records and records relating to governance and monitoring, including policies and procedures, audits, and incident records.
People's experience of this service
During our inspection visits we met 11 people and spoke with nine people who used the service and also observed the interactions between people, their peers and staff. An Expert by Experience who had experience of being a family carer of an adult with a learning disability, spoke with six relatives on the telephone for their feedback.
People told us they liked living in the service, which was their home, and the staff who supported them. A person said, “I love it.” People told us about what they liked to do and the plans they had to go out and do the activities they were interested in. A person showed us their bedroom and pointed out their personal mementos which demonstrated their choice and individuality was respected in their personal space. They told us they liked living in the service and felt safe. In addition, people told us how they had participated in choosing the décor in the service. We observed caring and compassionate interactions by the staff. People told us how they felt they were listened to and they chose what they wanted to do.
People’s relatives told us their family members were happy living in the service and they were assured their family members were safe. A relative said the new manager had made improvements which had given them confidence in the care being provided.
We received mixed views from relatives about how the service communicated with them. Some said they felt they were always updated about their family member’s care, and one felt they would like more information. We also received mixed views about how the staff supported their family members to maintain a healthy weight. During our inspection we found people’s weight was kept under review and people were encouraged to maintain a healthy weight, including support to eat healthy and nutritious food.