The Shieling

Updated 24 August 2023

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.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

The Shielings 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. The Shielings is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection, including notifications of significant events. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with a person who lived at the home, 5 relatives and 2 advocates to hear their views about the quality of care provided. Some people were unable to tell us about their experience of care due to their communication needs. 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 the registered manager, the service manager and the provider’s head of social care about how the service was run. We talked to 2 staff about how they provided people’s care and the training and support they received.

We checked 2 people’s care records, including their needs assessments, risk assessments and support plans, and 2 staff recruitment records. We reviewed health and safety records, accident and incident records, quality checks and audits, and the arrangements for managing medicines.

Updated 24 August 2023

About the service

The Shieling is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 10 adults. The service is registered to support autistic people, people with learning disabilities, and people with sensory impairment. There were 8 people living at the home at the time of our inspection.

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 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.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right Support

People’s care was provided in a safe, clean, and well-maintained environment. Staff managed risks well to keep people safe. People’s medicines were managed safely and staff supported people to access healthcare services when they needed them.

Staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life. People were supported by staff to take part in activities, to access their community, and to maintain relationships with their families.

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.

Staff had the induction, ongoing training and support they needed to carry out their roles. Regular one-to-one supervision provided opportunities for staff to discuss their performance and any further training needs.

Right care

The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. Staff understood their responsibilities in protecting people from abuse and knew how to report any concerns they had. The provider’s recruitment procedures helped ensure only suitable staff were employed.

People received kind and compassionate care from staff who knew them well. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. People were supported to be as independent as possible and to develop skills. People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs.

Right culture

The registered manager promoted a culture in which staff valued people’s individuality and protected their rights. The views of people who lived at the home, their relatives and advocates were sought and listened to. Staff knew people well and were responsive to their needs and wishes. People and those important to them were involved in planning their care.

The provider’s governance arrangements were effective in keeping people safe and ensuring the care they received met their individual needs. Staff were well-supported in their roles. Managers and staff had established good working relationships with other professionals to ensure people received well-co-ordinated care and support.

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 25 May 2018).

Why we inspected

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

Follow up

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