We carried out a review of the data available to us about 12 Robert Street on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about 12 Robert Street, you can give feedback on this service.
12 Robert Street is a residential care home providing personal care to five people at the time of the inspection, this is the maximum amount of people the service can support. 12 Robert Street is a large terraced house within walking distance of the local amenities, there is a small garden area to the rear of the property for people to enjoy.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
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 the Care Quality Commission (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.
Based on our review of all the key questions the service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.
Right Support
The service gave people care and support in a safe, clean, well equipped, environment that met their sensory and physical needs. Some areas of the service needed updating however the provider had an ongoing refurbishment plan in place for this. Staff understood how to support someone in line with the Mental Capacity Act however more clarity is needed around people’s capacity and the safeguards in place. We have made a recommendation about this. The service made reasonable adjustments for people so they could be fully included in discussions about how they received support, including support to travel wherever they needed to go. A supportive relationship with a local taxi firm meant people could arrange their own transport and travel independently to their planned activities. People were supported by staff to pursue their interests and were given the opportunity to take part in ‘taster’ sessions for new activities within the local community. Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcome.
Right Care
People’s care, treatment and support plans reflected their range of needs however some areas need expanding to give more insight to fully understand that person. For example, daily routines, which were important to people, had not been explained. Certain behaviours and communication traits were not fully detailed so new team members may miss cues of someone becoming agitated or distressed. The service has a consistent staff team who know the people well, so this did not impact the care people received. More detail was required around the monitoring and achievement of people's goals and aspirations: we made a recommendation around this.
People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity, understanding and responding to their individual needs. One person told us, “They’re [Staff] all very helpful and caring and friendly. They’re all like my friends.”
Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs.
Right culture
People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff. Staff knew and understood people well and were responsive, supporting their aspirations to live a quality life of their choosing. Staff turnover was very low, which supported people to receive consistent care from staff who knew them well. Staff placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. People received good quality care, support and treatment because trained staff and specialists could meet their needs and wishes. Staff ensured risks of a closed culture were minimised so that people received support based on transparency, respect and inclusivity. We received positive feedback from people and their family members about the service. One person told us, “They’re all good. I’ve never had a problem here, not here.” And another person said, “Nothing could make it better here, it works.”
Rating at the last inspection
The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good, published on 12 December 2020.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Why we inspected
We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of Right support, right care, right culture. A new provider took over this service, December 2020; this inspection was also to provide them with a rating.
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.
• Personalised support was risk assessed where people did not understand to self-isolate in their room. This approach had led to positive support which promoted both independence and safety.
• The registered manager and provider were working closely with the local authority and public health department to devise a person-centred risk assessed plan to enable people if possible, to visit friends and family at the end of their outbreak period. They understood the complexity of balancing people’s mental health needs and keeping people and those they live with safe.
• Staff supervised all essential visitors to ensure social distancing and infection control guidelines were followed. All visitors were asked a set of screening questions to ascertain any risks posed and to gather data for track and trace if required.
• People could choose to use applications such as video calls to maintain contact with their families and friends.
• The provider was fully aware of all current best practice guidance including the safe admission of people from hospital. This had been communicated to people, their families and staff as and when updates occurred.
• Personal Protective Equipment was available for staff and visitors in designated stations throughout the service. This reduced the risk of transmission.
• Cleaning schedules were thorough to ensure all areas were regularly cleaned to reduce the risk of transmission.
• Staff were able to seek quick healthcare support when people needed this. People’s health was monitored twice per day to check for any signs they required additional medical support. We signposted the registered manager to a further tool to aid staff recognising signs of deteriorating health.
Further information is in the detailed findings below.