United Response - The Swallows 183 -189 Hanworth Road

Updated 25 January 2023

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

This inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

United Response - The Swallows 183 -189 Hanworth Road 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. Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced. Inspection activity started on 23 December 2022 and ended on 17 January 2022. The inspection visit took place on 3 January 2022.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke in person with a line manager as the registered manager was not present. Some people couldn’t use words to communicate verbally and did not comment on the service. We spoke with 2 people using the service, 6 relatives or advocates, 3 staff, and 5 healthcare professionals to get their experience and views about the care provided. We reviewed a range of records. They included 2 people’s care plans and risk records. We looked at 2 staff files in relation to recruitment, training and staff supervision. We checked a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including staff rotas, training, and service level audits. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We requested additional evidence to be sent to us after our inspection. This included staffing and training information, and provider quality assurance audits. We received the information which was used as part of our inspection.

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

Updated 25 January 2023

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.

About the service

United Response - The Swallows 183 -189 Hanworth Road is a ‘care home’ that provides care and support for up to 6 people. All the people who live at The Swallows have a learning disability. There were 6 people living there at the time of the inspection.

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

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of right support, right care, right culture.

Right Support

People living at the service received safe care and had a safe place to live. The quality of the service was regularly reviewed, and changes made to improve people’s care and support as required. This was in a way that people preferred. The home kept well-established working partnerships that promoted people’s participation and reduced the danger of social isolation.

Right Care

Enough appropriately recruited and trained staff were available to support people to live in a safe way and enjoy their lives. Risks to people using the service and staff were assessed, monitored and reviewed. Complaints, concerns, accidents, incidents and safeguarding issues were appropriately reported, investigated and recorded. Trained staff safely administered people’s medicines.

Right culture

The home’s culture was positive, open, and honest, with leadership and management that was clearly identifiable. The provider’s vision and values were clearly defined, and staff understood and followed them. Staff knew what their responsibilities, and accountability was and were happy to take responsibility and report any concerns they may have.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 27 April 2019). At our last inspection we recommended that staff receive specialist training regarding people’s specific health conditions. At this inspection we found this had taken place.

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection to check whether the service was continuing to provide a good rated service to people.

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.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service remains good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for The Swallows 183 -189 Hanworth Road on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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