Chorley House

Chorley House is a small residential care home providing accommodation, personal or nursing care and support for up to 4 people with learning disabilities and/or autism. At the time of our inspection there were 4 people using the service.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

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.

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

Right Support: People were supported extremely well by staff who had a strong understanding of how to promote their independence and provide the maximum choice possible. Staff supported people to achieve their goals and aspirations by providing support where needed and promoting and identifying people’s strengths. People enjoyed a fulfilled life with activities meaningful to them both within the service and while accessing their local community. They were able to personalise their rooms with personal items which were important to them. The support people received was adjusted to specifically meet their individual needs. The provider undertook robust compatibility assessments when considering new people coming into the service, how this would impact them and the people already living at the service.

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.

Right Care: People’s diverse needs were considered in all aspects of the service; this included care planning, risk assessing and the day to day support people received. Staff were guided on how to provide extremely individualised person-centred support with detailed care plans which provided clear guidance on people’s wishes. The provider worked in partnership with external professionals involved in people’s care and ensured decisions involved them, the people important to them and people who knew them well. Staff had a good understanding of how to support people safely and demonstrated their knowledge of safeguarding. Communication needs were identified as a priority. The provider and staff understood the importance of adjusting their approach to people’s preferred way of communicating. People received support to maintain a healthy diet while having their choices around meals respected; people decided when they wanted to eat and were able to choose from multiple options. People’s medicines were managed safely, and they were consulted on how they wished to take their medication; staff asked people if they wanted their medication and involved them by explaining what each medicine was for.

Right Culture: One of the key strengths of the service was the registered manager and the values they implemented within the service. People led inclusive, empowered lives. This was consistently driven by the registered manager and subsequently staff who felt they were supported well by the registered manager and provider. People were supported by staff who fully understood best practice in relation to promoting their strengths and offering support only where required. People were constantly supported to achieve their goals and develop their aspirations through innovative care and support. Quality of life was enhanced by a culture of consistent development, improvement and working in partnership with people, and those important to them including external professionals. Any concerns or complaints were managed professionally, transparently and with integrity.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was good (13 September 2019).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the governance of the service, complaints and staff practice. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led sections of this full report.

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.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

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.

The service is situated in a residential area of Bolton. Three people were living at the service at the time of the inspection. There were deliberately no identifying signs outside to indicate it was a care home.

We found the following examples of good practice.

Robust checks were carried out for any visitors to the home. These included, a risk questionnaire, temperature checks and a smell test. Mail and parcels were stored in a separate storage area for three days, to reduce the risk of cross infection and transmission of COVID-19.

The service had a robust cleaning schedule for all areas of the home. A deep clean schedule had been introduced in line with recommendations from the local infection control team.

Robust risk assessments were completed, making it clear how staff could reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19. All staff had received training in infection control and how to use personal protective equipment (PPE) appropriately. PPE stock was of an appropriate standard and plentiful.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

Chorley House provides personal care and support for up to four younger adults with mental health issues, learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder.

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.

The service is situated in a residential area of Bolton. Three people were living at the service at the time of the inspection. There were deliberately no identifying signs outside to indicate it was a care home.

People’s experience of using this service

The registered manager had informed the people living at the home of the planned inspection.

Chorley House was a fully accessible building that met people’s needs. The property was a large detached property set in mature gardens and grounds.

The premises were homely and well maintained. There was an open and welcoming atmosphere on entering the premises.

Staff were very kind and caring towards people and had developed strong relationships with them. There was a friendly, respectful banter with staff and people who used the service.

There were sufficient numbers of trained staff to support people safely. Recruitment processes were robust and helped to ensure staff were appropriate to work with vulnerable people.

Staff had completed training in safeguarding children and adults and knew how to raise concerns.

Staff received the training and support they needed to carry out their roles effectively. Staff received regular supervisions with the registered manager.

People needs were thoroughly assessed prior to being offered a place at Chorley House. People and their relative, where appropriate had been involved in the care planning process.

The service was good at helping people achieve positive outcomes, building people’s confidence, independence and helping people develop new life skills.

There was a wide and varied range of activities available to people. People had been supported to develop new interests and hobbies and opportunities for further education and volunteer work.

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.

The open, inclusive and supportive nature of the service meant that promoting equality and diversity and respecting people’s human rights ran through every aspect of the service.

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 17 August 2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on our inspection programme. We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified.

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.

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