The Pleasance

Updated 5 July 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.

This was a focused inspection to check whether the provider had met the requirements of the Warning Notices in relation to Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 and Regulation 17 (Good governance) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

As part of this inspection, we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. 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

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector and an Expert by Experience. 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

The Pleasance 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 Pleasance 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 not a registered manager in post. A new manager had been appointed and had submitted an application to register. We are currently assessing this application.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We asked for feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 10 members of staff including the manager, area manager, senior support workers, support workers and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We had conversations with 11 people who lived at The Pleasance about their lives and the care and support they received.

We reviewed a number of records including 4 care files, 4 staff files and audits, checks and records relating to the management and oversight of the service. We reviewed the medicines administration records for 2 people.

Updated 5 July 2023

About the service

The Pleasance is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for 15 people. At the time of inspection there were 13 people using the service. The Pleasance has 5 houses on 1 site. Each house has individual flats with communal living space and enclosed gardens. People with learning disabilities and autistic people use the service.

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 demonstrated they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right Support

The provider had made improvements that were required after our last inspection. The care environment was safe, clean and secure. People were involved in planning their care and activities. Care was person-centred and people were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. Staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Right Care

People received care and support that was person-centred and promoted their dignity, privacy and human rights. Staff had received training to keep people safe and they knew how to report any concerns about care. People were happy with the care they received. One person told us, “I am very happy with the care that I receive and [member of staff] always wants to help me.”

Right Culture

People led confident, inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff. The service listened to people about their views of care and support and worked with the staff team to make changes and improvements. Staff knew the people they supported and they were open and honest in conversations about how they delivered care. The management team had a clear vision for the continued development of the service.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was inadequate following an inspection on 13 December 2022. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

The service was aware that it would be in Special Measures following the last inspection on 13 December 2023 and had implemented an action plan to make the required improvements. CQC issued a supplementary report on 9 May 2023 which confirmed the details of the breaches of regulation and the action that was taken.

During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements had been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

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.

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 13 December 2022. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment, safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment, premises and equipment and good governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from inadequate to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

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

Follow up

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