The Bungalow

Ratings

• Overall

  Good

• Safe

  Good

• Effective

  Good

• Caring

  Good

• Responsive

  Good

• Well-led

  Good

Our view of the service

Date of Assessment: 1 May to 13 May 2025.

This service is a residential care home providing support to people with a learning disability and autistic people. At the time of the inspection, 6 people were living in the service.

We assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.

People were protected and kept safe. Staff understood and managed risks to people’s health and safety. However, the provider’s processes for recording incidents and safeguarding information required further development to demonstrate how concerns were investigated and managed.

There were enough staff available to meet people’s needs. Staff knew people well and understood how they like to be supported. Staff ensured people’s medicines were safe and met their needs. However, the provider’s medicines administration checks were not always sufficiently detailed and this meant relevant information was not always recorded.

People were involved in assessments of their needs. Staff reviewed assessments taking account of people’s communication, personal and health needs.

Staff worked with all agencies involved in people’s care for the best outcomes and smooth transitions when moving services. They monitored people’s health to support healthy living. Staff made sure people understood their care to enable them to give informed consent. Staff involved those important to people and took decisions in people’s best interests where they did not have capacity.

People were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff protected their privacy and dignity. They treated them as individuals and supported their preferences. People had choice in their care and were encouraged to maintain relationships with family and friends. Staff responded to people in a timely way. The provider supported staff wellbeing.

People were involved in decisions about their care. Staff provided information people could understand. People knew how to give feedback and were confident the provider took it seriously and acted on it. People received fair and equal care and staff worked to reduce health and care inequalities.

Leaders and staff had a shared vision and culture based on listening, learning and trust. Leaders were visible, knowledgeable and supportive. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities and were given the time and resources to try new ideas. Governance processes were in place to monitor the safety and quality of the service. However, these were not always implemented effectively. Managers were responsive to feedback and there was a culture of continuous improvement within the service.

People's experience of this service

People told us they were happy living in the service. People and their relatives spoke positively about the quality of care they received. They told us they had no concerns with safety and were fully involved in making decisions about their care. They told us staff were kind, caring and compassionate. They also said the service provided lots of interesting activities to keep people physically and mentally active.

Some people could not directly tell us about their experience. We used a structured observation tool to assess whether they received good care. This approach showed people were included and listened to and staff consistently interacted positively with them.

Comments form people and their relatives included, “I’m happy there”, “[Person] is living their best life”, “They entertain [person], they stimulate them all the time. It’s an amazing place”, “It’s absolutely their home and the other clients are like brothers and sisters”, “[Person] has a lovely room. They keep it nicely decorated. It’s warm and cosy in there”, “[Person] goes out a lot – more than I do” and “I absolutely cannot think of any improvement”.