Chance Drive

Updated 17 December 2021

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

Chance Drive 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. The manager had applied for registration however left the home after the inspection had taken place. A new manager was promptly recruited.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection including the providers action plan. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We met with four people who used the service. We received feedback either verbally or in written format from six people. We spoke to four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the operations manager, manager, senior care worker and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at one staff file in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 17 December 2021

About the service

Chance Drive is a residential care home providing care and support to younger adults, people with a diagnosis of learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder and people with a mental health diagnosis. At the time of the inspection seven people were receiving support. The service can support up to eight people.

Chance Drive accommodates people across two independent flats and a communal home with six

bedrooms, each of which has adapted facilities.

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

People told us they felt safe and were now involved in their care. Improvement had been made to assess or mitigate ongoing risks to people. Staff practices had improved to be more person centred. Record keeping around management of incidents had improved though required further improvement. Care plan and risk assessments were updated though the new digital system which was still being developed.

Medicine open dates were not consistently recorded however medicines were administered safely. Infection control practices in relation to COVID-19 were in line with current government guidance.

New systems and processes had been introduced and continued to be developed. Communication with relatives had improved and staff received better support in their roles.

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 not always able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of right support, right care, right culture however care was more person centred to promote dignity and human rights. The behaviours of leaders and care staff ensured people using services lead more confident, inclusive and empowered lives than we found during out last inspection.

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 requires improvement (published 27 August 2021) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements. The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service remains Requires Improvement. 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 Chance Drive on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to safeguarding, incident management and the management of the home. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

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.

The overall rating for the service has remained requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvement. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end 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.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Chance Drive on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.