Aurora Hyde Lodge

Aurora Hyde Lodge is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care. The service provides support to up to eight people. At the time of our inspection there were seven people using the service.

The service also has an independent flat which has its own kitchen and access to a shared outside garden area. One person was living in this part of Aurora Hyde Lodge at the time of the inspection.

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

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.

Right Support:

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 promoted people’s independence including accessing the local community and clubs and activities that were important to them.

Right Care:

People were supported to receive person centred care that promoted their independence and placed people at the heart of the support they received. Care plans contained important information that reflected people’s individual needs including their likes and dislikes and their individual support needs.

Right Culture:

People were supported by staff who were described by relatives as kind and caring. At the time of the inspection relatives felt improvements were being made to the staffing situation. The manager confirmed they were working hard to ensure staff vacancies were filled. Rotas were flexible and staff were allocated reflecting what activities and support people required that day. Staff felt it was a nice place to work with a good staff team which supported each other.

Actions were being taken to address shortfalls identified as part of the inspection. Where external reports had identified health and safety concerns actions were being taken to address and undertake the work required.

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was Outstanding (published February 2018). At this inspection we found the service was now Good.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the service including staffing and the care and support people were receiving. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

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 changed from Outstanding to Good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Aurora Hyde Lodge on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Hyde Lodge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Hyde Lodge accommodates eight young people with learning difficulties in one adapted building. The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

There was a registered manager in place. 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 provided outstanding care and support to the young people at Hyde Lodge. Staff were exceptionally caring and often when above and beyond the expectations of their role to provide valuable experiences for the young people. Staff and the young people worked hard on maximising their independence and had specific, tailored programmes in place to achieve this. Relationships with family and loved ones was fully supported and encouraged. Staff worked hard with one person to ensure they could attend an important family event, meaning the whole family could be together on the special day.

The service was outstanding in the opportunities provided for the young people. They took part in a number of enterprise schemes to raise money for new equipment for the house. These schemes were fully inclusive and each young person was given opportunity to contribute. The young people were then given opportunity to decide how to spend the money they’d raised. The activity programme took account of people’s cultural needs and tailored to each individual’s hobbies and interests

Young people were encouraged and empowered to share their views and opinions. Staff achieved this through using communication methods such as symbols, pictures and objects of reference. The principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were embedded in to practice so that the young people were able to take part in decision making as far as they were able to.

Staff were very well supported and the training programme was innovative and tailored specifically to the needs of staff and the young people they supported. New staff took undertook the Care Certificate and any particular training necessary to enable them to support the young people safely

People received effective care that met their health needs. Staff understood and knew how to manage the young people’s complex health conditions. Staff worked well with healthcare professionals to deliver their advice and programmes of support. This included for example, exercises provided by the physiotherapist. There was a small team of staff working across all shifts with each young person. This meant they knew the young people and their needs very well and could work effectively with them to meet their individual goals.

The service was well led. There was a registered manager in place supported by shift leaders. Staff felt well supported able to report any concerns or issues. Staff told us they worked well together as a team and that communication was good. There were systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service provided.

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