Champion House - Care Home with Nursing Physical Disabilities

Updated 23 March 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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This included checking the provider was meeting COVID-19 vaccination requirements in force at the time of our inspection. 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 one inspector and an Expert by Experience on the first day, and one inspector on the second day. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Champion 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. Champion House is a care home with nursing care. 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. There was a temporary manager in place and a permanent manager had been recruited. A registered manager is a person who is 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 on both inspection visits.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection, we reviewed all the information we held about the service including previous inspection report and notifications received by the CQC. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to tell us about by law. We requested feedback from other stakeholders. These included Healthwatch Leeds, the local authority safeguarding team and commissioners. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with six people using the service and five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We observed care in the communal areas of the home to help us understand the experience of people. We also gathered information from 11 members of staff including the temporary manager, regional manager, quality manager, nurses, carers and physiotherapist.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people's care plans, risk assessments and associated information, and other records of care to follow up on specific issues. We also reviewed multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records 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.

Updated 23 March 2022

Champion House - Care Home with Nursing Physical Disabilities, known as Champion House, is a care home that can accommodate up to 27 people who require support with nursing or personal care needs, some of whom have a learning disability. At the time of our inspection, there were 26 people living at the service.

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

People told us they felt safe and enjoyed living at the service; their comments included, “I am very happy where I am and wouldn’t change anything.” Relatives gave the same positive feedback.

Some aspects of medication management were not always safe. We found improvements were required in the management, recording and auditing of medication used to thicken drinks for people who were at risk of choking and of creams prescribed to manage risks to people’s skin integrity. We have made a recommendation in relation to the management of thickeners and prescribed creams.

The service did not have a registered manager. Although there was a temporary manager in place and a permanent manager had been recruited, we found effective oversight had not always been maintained in some areas of the such training, supervision and quality of audits. We have made a recommendation in relation to the implementation of effective quality assurance processes.

Risks to people’s care were assessed and managed well. Some areas of moving and handling risk assessments required further detail.

The service followed safe recruitment practices and we found enough staff were available to support people. The service frequently used agency staff to ensure adequate staffing levels and the provider told us they were in the process of recruiting more staff.

At the time of our inspection, the provider was following current guidelines in relation to infection prevention and control, visiting and vaccination as a condition of deployment.

The provider completed person-centred assessments and care plans were updated when required. People were supported to access relevant healthcare services when they needed them, and they were supported to eat and drink well.

Staff’s training and supervision was not always up to date but the provider told us about their plans to ensure this was addressed in the short term. Staff told us they felt well supported in their roles. People and relatives told us staff were knowledgeable and skilled.

People were supported by staff who were caring and respectful. People, relatives and when appropriate, advocates, were involved in making decisions about the care people received.

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 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.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. There was a person-centred culture at the service. Support provided promoted people’s choice and control. Communication plans had been developed to ensure staff communicated well with people. There was adapted equipment at the service to meet people’s needs and promote their independence. We observed positive interactions between people and staff.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 31 July 2019 and this is the first inspection.

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was Good (published 27 June 2018).

Why we inspected

This was this service first inspection since it had registered under a new provider on 31 July 2019.

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. This included checking the provider was meeting COVID-19 vaccination requirements in place at the time of our inspection.

Recommendations

We have made two recommendations. We recommended the provider review the management of thickeners and prescribed creams and we recommended the provider implement effective audits.

Follow up

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