People in Action - Barnfield

Updated 13 October 2021

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 Care Act 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 two inspectors and a medicines inspector. One inspector and the medicines inspector visited the service and the other inspector contacted relatives and healthcare professionals by telephone to gather their views about the service provided.

Service and service type

People in Action - Barnfield is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. The registered manager and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection because some of the people using it could not consent to a home visit from an inspector. This gave the staff time to help reassure people of the inspection and people visiting the home.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority who work with the service. We also contacted Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We reviewed a range of records which included one person's care records and four people’s medicines records. We looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits, health and safety checks and minutes of staff meetings. We met all four people who live at People in Action - Barnfield and spoke with two people's relatives, two professionals, the registered manager and three support staff. We carried out observations to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 13 October 2021

About the service

The service is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to five people. People who use the service have learning and physical disabilities. At the time of our inspection four people were living at People in Action - Barnfield. Staff members are on duty 24 hours a day.

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

Risks were identified and risk management plans were in place to support staff to mitigate the risks of harm people may face at home and in the community. Staff understood their responsibility to report any concerns they had about people's health or wellbeing. Infection control practices were well managed and followed to minimise the risk of the spread of infection. Medicines were appropriately managed which meant people were protected from unnecessary risks and harm.

There were enough staff to keep people safe, although staff vacancies meant some staff were regularly working extra hours to maintain safe staffing levels. Staff received an induction and training to ensure they had the appropriate knowledge and skills.

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.

Person-centred care plans were in place. Staff took time to know people, supported them to communicate their needs and advocated on their behalf. Staff encouraged people to remain active and engage in interests that were important to them

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. Care is person-centred and promotes people's dignity, privacy and human rights.

Right support: Barnfield was set in a residential area and the provider’s model of care maximised people’s choice, control and independence.

Right care: The care provided was person-centred and promoted people's dignity, privacy and upheld their human rights.

Right culture: The values and ethos of leaders and well trained staff ensured people living in the home were leading more inclusive lives within their communities.

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 3 May 2019).

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services rated Good and Outstanding to test the reliability of our new monitoring approach.

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.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.