Primrose Place

Primrose Place is a residential care home providing personal care for up to five people. The service provides support to people with learning disabilities and autism. At the time of our inspection there were four people using the service. The care home is an older style building which has been adapted with accommodation set out over three floors.

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

People 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.

The provider’s oversight of the service had not identified some of the shortfalls we found at this inspection. Systems and processes in place to monitor the safety and effectiveness of the service required improvement.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Support:

Relatives and staff told us that although people’s needs were met in a timely way there could be a more holistic approach to activities and promoting independence. People were supported by staff who knew their choices and preferences. Peoples risks had been assessed; however, work was on-going as risk assessments and care plans were being updated and transferred to an electronic system. People were supported with their medicines safely.

Right Care:

Staff received training to support people’s individual needs. People were effectively supported with specific dietary needs. People were involved with menu planning and were offered choice, which was reflective of their preferences, including cultural dietary needs. However, some staff told us the choice could be limited at times due to waiting for the next food delivery. This was discussed with the provider who gave assurances and food purchase receipts to evidence they order adequate food but acknowledge the stock levels could look a little low whilst awaiting the next order, food orders are placed twice weekly. Some staff felt that people would benefit from going food shopping to help with the promotion of choice and independence, the provider told us he was looking to introduce this again. This had stopped due to COVID-19 but since restrictions have been lifted some staff felt this would be beneficial to re-introduce. Staff took part in regular testing for COVID-19 although this is no longer a requirement. We observed staff respecting people’s privacy and dignity when providing care and support.

Right Culture:

The environment did not fully support people living with a learning disability or autism. The provider had not considered some improvement within the environment to enhance the lives of people such as; sensory items being easily accessible and out on display for those with sensory impairments, consideration to colours when decorating the home and cleanliness. Although there were contrasting colours for light switches, shelves and radiator covers, they were not uplifting and vibrant colours, they were dark and the dining area was bland and dull due to the décor. We saw the service worked closely with healthcare professionals. People were supported to access healthcare services as required and we received some positive feedback from the two healthcare professionals we spoke to.

The recruitment process was carried out safely. Staff had received training on how to recognise and report abuse and all felt confident in doing so. Staff were all aware of the whistleblowing policy and procedure should their concerns not be actioned appropriately.

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

Rating

This service was registered with us on 28 February 2020 and this is the first inspection. The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good, published on 10 April 2019.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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 see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Follow up

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

We found the following examples of good practice.

Checks were carried out on essential visitors to the service to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Regular testing in line with government guidelines for COVID-19 took place for people and the staff team.

People were supported to maintain contact with others who were important to them in a variety of ways including zoom calls, telephone calls and letters.

Staff were wearing PPE appropriately. There were sufficient supplies of PPE located around the service and arrangements were in place for staff to safely remove and dispose of PPE.

People’s observations were taken regularly to monitor for symptoms of COVID-19. This supported staff to identify if a person was displaying symptoms of infection.

People were encouraged to stay well and enjoy physical exercise including walks in the local park.

The home was kept clean with regular cleaning schedules adhered to.

Policies and procedures related to COVID-19 were up to date which supported staff to keep people safe.

The registered manager and provider communicated regularly with people, staff and relatives to make sure everyone understood the precautions being taken, and how to keep people safe.