• Care Home
  • Care home

Archived: Little Smugglers Barn

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Snow Hill, Crawley Down, West Sussex, RH10 3EF (01342) 718991

Provided and run by:
Consensus Support Services Limited

Important: The provider of this service changed. See old profile

All Inspections

24 February 2015

During a routine inspection

The inspection took place on the 24 February 2015 and was announced. Forty eight hours notice of the inspection was given to ensure that the people we needed to speak to were available

Little Smugglers Barn is a care home for a maximum of five adults with a learning disability and complex needs including mental health, challenging behaviour and epilepsy.

The service had a registered manager. 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 experiences of people were positive. People told us they felt safe living at the home. Staff supported them to live independently and helped with their living skills and self care. Staff showed a great understanding about their needs. People were encouraged and supported in daily activities such as going shopping and cooking their own food.

People had access to and could choose suitable educational, leisure and social activities in line with their individual interests and hobbies. These included day trips and attending a local social club.

People’s needs were assessed and care plans were developed to identify what care and support they required. Staff worked with healthcare professionals such as doctors and psychiatrists to obtain specialist advice to ensure people received the care and treatment they needed. People were supported to live as independently as possible.

Residents and staff meetings regularly took place which provided an opportunity for staff and people to feedback on the quality of the service. Staff and people told us they liked the regular meetings. Feedback was sought on a daily basis; the home accommodated five people and this meant they could communicate to the staff throughout the day and raise any concerns if needed. Feedback was also sought on an annual basis via a survey for people and staff.

Staff were aware of their responsibility to protect people from harm or abuse and knew what action to take if they were concerned. They told us they were confident to use the procedures to raise concerns.

We saw there were enough staff to meet people’s needs. People were supported on a one to one basis. Staff were kind, attentive and patient when supporting people and treated them with respect. Staff spent time with people and were present in communal areas.

There were systems in place to regularly audit the quality and safety of the service, which were carried out by the homes management team and also a provider’s representative to provide management support to the registered manager.

There was an open and vibrant working atmosphere at the service. People, staff and relatives all said they found the management team approachable and professional.

25 November 2013

During a routine inspection

There were five people living in the home when we visited. We spoke with five members of staff, three people who lived in the home and a relative who was visiting.

The home was bright and airy and the notice boards were covered in colourful pictures and photographs. We saw the individual activity planners of the people who lived in the home and saw that four people were busy with activities, including shopping for the evening meal with their key workers. One person was in the home completing 'daily living skills'. This included changing their bed linen and cleaning their room. Another was due to return to prepare for a meeting with their relatives and healthcare professionals to review their planned care and treatment.

The relative we spoke with said that organisation within the home had improved since the new manager had been appointed and there was now a 'very good staff team' and that they were 'efficient and caring'.

31 January 2013

During an inspection looking at part of the service

This was a targeted inspection to follow-up on specific concerns that we raised about care planning and staff support when we last inspected the home on 16 August 2012.

We found that the management arrangements for the home had changed since our previous visit. A new registered manager was in post and a deputy manager had also been appointed. People who used the service and staff spoke highly of these two individuals and said that these changes had significantly improved the running of the home.

The manager said that all care plans had now been reviewed and updated. We looked at the care records for two people and found that guidelines and risk assessments had been recently updated. This meant that staff now had access to the right information to enable them to support people effectively.

We saw evidence that the home now had systems in place to ensure staff received regular training and supervision. We spoke with three members of staff who all confirmed that they now had the right support to enable them to do their jobs. This meant that people were supported by a competent team of staff.

20 August 2012

During an inspection in response to concerns

People told us that they were 'happy' and liked living at Little Smugglers Barn. One person showed us round the outside grounds and said that they enjoyed the 'freedom and independence' that the location of the home allowed them. People said that they got on well 'with almost all of the staff' and that staff allowed them to do as much as possible for themselves. People said that they enjoyed the activities arranged by the home, especially the trips out. People told us that they had nice meals and that they were involved in the planning, shopping and cooking of food.