Tigh Calman

Updated 5 June 2021

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

This inspection was undertaken by one inspector.

Service and service type:

Tigh Calman 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 did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). However, the manager had applied to the CQC to be a registered manager. This means that the provider is 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. We gave the service a short period of notice. This was to ensure it was safe for us to enter the premises.

Inspection activity took place between the 20 May and 26 May 2021. We visited the service on 20 May 2021 to see the manager.

What we did before this inspection:

The provider completed 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 checked the information we held about the service and the provider, such as notifications. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us. We used this information to assist with the planning of the inspection.

We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. No concerns were reported.

During the inspection:

We spoke with the manager, three care staff, a social worker and two relatives. We looked at various records, including risk assessments for two people, as well as other records relating to the running of the service. These included one recent staff recruitment file, supervision planning records, training records, medicine administration records and audits. We were not able to speak with people who used other communications, so we sought information from the manager, staff and relatives.

After the inspection

We requested the manager send us records for staff recruitment, people's pastimes and hobbies and to clarify people’s risk management plans. This information was provided in the timescales given.

Updated 5 June 2021

About the service:

Tigh Calman is a care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to six people in an adapted two storey building. It provides a service to younger adults and people living with autism and a learning disability. At the time of our inspection there were six people using the service.

Peoples experience of using this service:

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

This service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. People were kept at the centre of their support and all the decisions made about their care. Staff and managers had a passion for promoting people’s independence. There was a focus on supporting people to live their lives free from restrictive practices. People were supported to celebrate their achievements and achieve good outcomes.

People were supported to be independent in a safe way. Trained and competent staff managed and administered people’s prescribed medicines. We observed staff wore their personal protective equipment (PPE) correctly and systems were in place that promoted good infection prevention and control. Lessons' were learned when things went wrong, and learning was shared across the staff team.

Staff knew how to keep people safe and communication strategies were in place for people to be able to raise any safeguarding concerns. Staff were safely recruited and there was a robust process to ensure there was always enough staff. The manager told us how unplanned staff absences were covered.

The service did not have a registered manager in place. However, the manager had applied to be a registered manager. They were supported by the provider's health and safety, compliance and management teams. They knew their responsibilities and had developed a positive, open and honest staff team culture. Quality assurance processes and governance systems were effective in driving improvements.

The manager worked well with others to provide people with joined up care and support. The staff team promoted the provider’s equality and diversity policies and treated people equally well. The manager and staff team supported people to have a say in how the service was run.

Why we inspected:

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about risks to people’s safety and the management of the service. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

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.

This focussed inspection looked at the Safe and Well-led domains. The overall rating for the service has remained Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 11 September 2018). At our focused inspection in December 2020 we looked at infection prevention and control procedures only, but we did not provide a rating.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.