Background to this inspection
Updated
15 May 2019
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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team:
¿ This inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type:
¿ The Conifers is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
¿ The Conifers provides support to up to six people living with learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorder in one house. The home has six bedrooms with private bathrooms and a shared kitchen, dining room, living room and sensory room with living space across three floors.
¿ The service was located close to local shops and public transport links. The building is a converted house in a residential area and fit with the surrounding buildings. People living at The Conifers could live a life like any other citizen.
¿ The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they 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:
¿ The inspection was unannounced. Inspection site visit activity started on 07 March 2019 and ended on 08 March 2019.
What we did:
Before the inspection we looked at information we had about the service, including;
• Provider information return – key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.
• Notifications we received from the service – the law requires providers to notify us of certain events that happen during the running of a service.
• The provider’s website.
During the inspection:
• We spoke with two people who used the service, the registered manager, the behaviour specialist, the assistant psychologist and two members of staff.
• We looked at two people’s care records, activity plans and meal plans.
• We looked at staff records, including training records.
• We looked at records of accidents, incidents and complaints.
• We looked at audits, quality assurance reports and other records, including policies and procedures.
• We reviewed the home’s facilities and made observations in communal areas of the home of how staff supported people.
• We asked for feedback from the families of the people living in the home, two people’s families gave us feedback about their experience.
• We asked for feedback from healthcare professionals involved in people's care.
Updated
15 May 2019
About the service:
¿ The Conifers is a residential care home that provides personal care for to up to six people living with learning disabilities or autism spectrum disorder.
¿ The size and design of the building fit in with local residences and there were deliberately no identifying signs, in line with current best practice guidelines. People had easy access to local amenities and could live a life as any other citizen.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
People’s experience of using this service:
¿ The provider delivered an outstanding service to people which achieved positive outcomes.
¿ The staff team worked well with other providers and services to ensure people had access to healthcare services they needed and were given personalised support when accessing these services.
¿ The service had a highly skilled behavioural support team and staff team who worked closely together to provide high quality support to people with a high level of need.
¿ Best practice standards and professional research was used to implement high quality, effective care.
¿ Staff used a wide variety of communication methods fluently with people and created highly individualised communication support plans to involve them as much as possible in their care and support and to give them choice and control in their lives.
¿ Staff did not allow any physical or learning disability become a barrier to participating in activities or being part of the local community.
¿ People’s families spoke highly of the quality of care and of the approach of the provider and staff in supporting their loved ones, and held up the service as an example to others.
¿ The registered manager and senior managers fostered a culture of openness and professional challenge. This ensured all staff understood and were able to meet the high standards of quality expected of them.
¿ Quality assurance measures were extremely robust and well embedded into every-day practice. Staff reviewed the quality and safety of care delivered in an in-depth way on a regular basis and their performance was closely monitored in a supportive way.
¿ The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.
Rating at last inspection:
¿ At the last inspection the service was rated Outstanding (16 April 2016).
Why we inspected:
¿ This was a planned inspection to review whether the service remained outstanding.
Follow up:
¿ We did not identify any concerns at this inspection. We will therefore aim to re-inspect this service within the published timeframe for services rated outstanding. We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive.