• Care Home
  • Care home

Walsingham Support - 2 Ashley Close

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

2 Ashley Close, Bennets End, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP3 8EH (01442) 258226

Provided and run by:
Walsingham Support

Latest inspection summary

On this page

Background to this inspection

Updated 10 July 2019

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 team consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type

Walsingham support is a ‘care home.’ People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as 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 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.

Inspection activity started on 12 June 2019 and ended on 19 June 2019. We visited the office location on 12 June 2019.

What we did before the 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 on-going monitoring such as information received from the service since the last inspection. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with one person who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with two members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager and care workers.

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

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We spoke with four professionals who regularly visit the service.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 10 July 2019

About the service

Walsingham Support is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to six people with a learning disability at the time of the inspection.

Walsingham support accommodates six people in an adapted building. Each person has an individual bedroom and communal space which consists of kitchen, lounge, dining room, bathrooms, conservatory, and laundry room. There is an onsite office where the registered manager is based.

The service has been developed and designed in line with most 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.

There were deliberately no identifying signs, intercom, cameras, industrial bins, or anything else outside to indicate it was a care home, however the building is situated on a hospital site. Staff were also discouraged from wearing anything that suggested they were care staff when coming and going with people.

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

People were safe in the home. There were care plans and risk assessments in place to make sure people’s health and wellbeing were met effectively.

There were enough staff to meet the needs of people being supported. People were supported to manage their medicines and health professionals were actively involved and had positive experiences with the home.

People were supported to do things they enjoyed. There were times where staff encouraged people’s independence, however this could be expanded on.

People had a choice about decisions made in the home they lived in and staff encouraged this. Staff were kind and were dedicated to making a difference to people’s lives.

There was clear quality assurance monitoring in place from the registered manager, provider, and local authority. Staff felt supported by the manager and were able to approach the, with any concerns.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

We recommended that this was developed with the details of peoples wishes and wants of they were to fall ill which then resulted in palliative care.

The service applied most the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice, and independence.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence, and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 14 October 2016)

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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

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.