Background to this inspection
Updated
29 January 2020
The inspection
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
The inspection was conducted by two inspectors.
Service and service type
Alphonsus House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was unannounced.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and commissioning teams. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We met and spoke with nine people who lived at the service. Due to their complex needs some people were not able to share their experiences with us in detail, so we observed how staff interacted with people. We also spoke with a visiting relative. We spoke with four staff members, the operations director and the registered manager. We looked at four people’s care plans and records, medicines records, details of incidents, behavioural support plans and quality assurance records. We also looked at recruitment records for two staff members.
Updated
29 January 2020
About the service
Alphonsus House is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 19 younger adults with learning disabilities or sensory impairments. The home accommodates 19 people in four separate properties; three houses and a bungalow. 19 people were living at the service at the time of the inspection.
The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. 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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they felt safe and our observations confirmed people were comfortable in the presence of staff. Staff knew how to identify and report concerns for people’s safety. Risks were assessed and managed and staff followed guidance in behaviour support plans to ensure people were safely supported. People received their medicines as prescribed and staff had been safely recruited.
People, relatives and staff felt the service was well managed. Improvements had been made since the last inspection and learning took place from incidents and events. The registered manager and senior staff carried out regularly auditing to check the quality of people’s care and took action where concerns were identified.
People and staff were given opportunities to share their views about the service and relatives felt the registered manager was approachable. The staff team worked in partnership with other professionals to ensure people’s needs were met.
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.
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 5 February 2019).
Why we inspected
To assure ourselves the service was meeting people’s needs, that staff had the necessary skills and experience and the management processes were effective we completed a focused inspection. We reviewed the key questions of Safe and Well Led only.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other Key Questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those Key Questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Alphonsus House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
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.