Wellcroft House

Updated 28 March 2020

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.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Wellcroft House is a care home, which provides accommodation and personal care for younger adults with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, physical disability or sensory impairment. 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. However, the new manager in post had made the appropriate application with CQC and this was in progress. The registered manager 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 the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the date of registration. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We did not request a provider information return [PIR] on this occasion. 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. We used all of the information we held to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We were not able to speak with people using the service, so 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.

We spoke with three members of care staff, the deputy manager, the manager and a visiting professional.

We looked at two people’s care records, including their Medication Administration Records (MAR), two staff recruitment records and records relating to the governance of the service. This included quality assurance audits, records of accidents and incidents and complaints made.

Following the inspection

We spoke with three relatives via the telephone to gain their views on the service.

Updated 28 March 2020

About the service

Wellcroft House is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to six people. This includes younger adults with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, physical disability or sensory impairment. At the time of the inspection six people were living at the home.

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.

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

Staff were aware of how to keep people safe and relatives raised no concerns about how staff supported their family members. Staff knew how to escalate issues and concerns and were aware of potential risks when providing support. People received their medicines appropriately, as required. Staff used correct equipment, such as gloves and aprons when assisting people. Accidents and incidents were managed appropriately. Staff were recruited in a safe way.

Staff received an effective induction and ongoing training. Relatives felt staff knew people well enough to enable them to support individual needs and requirements. People received food and drinks as required and attended any medical appointments.

Mental capacity assessments were not always carried out or updated prior to applications being put forward for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). However, staff understood mental capacity and how to act in the person’s best interests. Action was taken by the manager to ensure mental capacity assessments were in place where required.

People were supported to have choice and control over their lives and staff understood that they should support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Staff ensured that people’s privacy and dignity was maintained.

Staff were seen to be kind and caring towards people and relatives felt they were compassionate and available to people. People were given choices and were able to make their own decisions as far as possible. Staff supported people to be independent where this was possible and ensured that people’s privacy and dignity was maintained.

Relatives had been involved in the development of care plans and were invited to regular reviews of care. Care plans provided staff with information about people’s needs and preferences and how they would like these to be met. A complaints procedure was in place and relatives knew how to raise concerns and felt these would be addressed. People were supported to remain active and participate in social activities, in line with their interests.

Feedback was gathered from people and used to inform the service. People were becoming familiar with the new manager and relatives told us they felt the manager was approachable.

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

Rating at last inspection

This was the first inspection for the service under the new provider.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection, however we had also received information of concern in relation to the conduct of some staff members and the previous registered managers understanding and reporting of safeguarding concerns. Immediate action to address these issues had been taken by the provider.

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.