Maplin House

Updated 23 June 2022

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.

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

The inspection was completed by one inspector.

Service and service type

Maplin House is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Maplin House is a care home without nursing care. 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 inspection

The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We sought information from the Local Authority. We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was registered. We used this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three members of staff and the registered manager. We reviewed four people's care files and two staff personnel files, including information about staff training and supervision data. We looked at the service’s medication practices and information relating to the service’s quality assurance arrangements.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We reviewed additional information relating to the service’s quality assurance arrangements. We contacted two people’s relatives so that we could talk to them about their experience of the care provided for their family member. We were able to speak with one relative.

Updated 23 June 2022

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.

About the service

Maplin House is a residential care home and was providing accommodation and personal care to eight people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 16 people living with a learning disability and/or autism.

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

Not all risks to people's safety were assessed, mitigated and up to date to ensure they were kept safe. Improvements were required to ensure the security of medicines. Though there were the required numbers of staff on duty, one of these was undertaking training which meant there were not enough numbers of staff deployed to meet people’s care and support needs. People were not always supported to be independent and make decisions.

Quality assurance arrangements were in place to monitor the quality of the service provided. Whilst there was evidence available to demonstrate improvements had been made since our last inspection to the service in September 2021, The quality assurance system had not identified issues found during our inspection. This needed to be embedded into the service’s day to day ongoing monitoring.

Suitable arrangements were in place to ensure the right staff were employed at the service. People told us they had no concerns and that the service was a safe place to live. Interactions between people using the service and staff were relaxed and comfortable. The service was clean and odour free. This inspection highlighted lessons had been learned and improvements made since our last inspection in September 2021.

The service was not able to fully demonstrate how they were meeting some of the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right Support:

• The service was a large residential property that comprised of 12 bedrooms within the local residential area. There were no visible signs to reflect from the outside, to show Maplin House was a care home. Most people had lived together at Maplin House for many years.

• People had their own rooms which had been personalised. People were able to use communal areas as they wished and to have privacy for themselves. However, the décor of the service required significant improvement.

• Improvements were needed to promote and develop some people’s independence and to support them to be better involved in making choices and decisions about the running of the home.

Right Care:

• Staff were caring and treated people as individuals. Better support was required to enable and facilitate people using the service to access the local community.

• Staff knew people well and understood how to communicate with each person.

Right culture:

• The ethos of the service was family orientated and we saw that people were comfortable and liked where they lived.

• There was a stable team of staff at Maplin House, of whom various staff members had worked at the service for a significant period of time. This meant people using the service received consistent care from staff who knew them well.

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 Inadequate [published 12 October 2021].

The service has been in Special Measures since March 2021. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated Inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to continue to make improvements and to imbed continued learning.

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of Right support, right care, right culture and to check compliance with the Warning Notices issued in September 2021.

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 until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.