Hyde Park House

Updated 29 September 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This comprehensive inspection took place on 27 July 2017 and was announced. We gave the manager 24 hours' notice of the inspection as this is a service for adults who are often out of the service and we wanted someone to be in the office when we visited.

The inspection was carried out by one adult social care 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. The expert-by-experience who assisted with this inspection had knowledge and experience relating to people with learning disabilities.

Before the inspection we spoke with the local authority safeguarding and commissioning teams to gain their views of the service. We reviewed all of the information we held about the service, including notifications sent to us by the provider. Notifications are when providers send us information about certain changes, events or incidents that occur within the service, which they are required to do by law. The provider submitted a Provider Information Return (PIR) in June 2017 within the given timescales. The PIR is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

At this inspection we spoke with the provider, the manager and deputy manager, three members of staff and one relative. We also spoke with six of the 11 people who used the service, of the remaining five people one was on a family visit, two were out on activities and the remaining two did not wish to speak with us. Although we did not speak with any health care professionals the manager provided us with recent emails, written statements and review letters to evidence their views of the service and we have used their comments from a survey carried out by the service in March 2017.

We looked at three people’s care records, including their initial assessments, care plans, reviews, risk assessments and medication administration records (MARs). We looked at how the service used the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) to ensure that when people were assessed as lacking capacity to make informed decisions themselves or when they were deprived of their liberty, actions were taken in their best interest.

We also looked at a selection of documentation relating to the management and running of the service. This included quality assurance information, audits, stakeholder surveys, recruitment information for two members of staff, staff training records, policies and procedures and records of maintenance carried out on equipment.

Updated 29 September 2017

Hyde Park House is registered as a care home providing care and support for up to 11 adults who have a learning disability. The property is made up of two adjoining houses. One side of the house is known as ‘the flat’ and contains three semi-independent flats, plus shared kitchen and lounge. The main ‘house’ accommodates eight adults. There is a shared lounge, kitchen and dining room. All bedrooms are for single occupancy and have en-suite facilities. Hyde Park House is within walking distance of Harrogate town centre.

At our last inspection in August 2015 the service was rated as good overall with an outstanding rating for the key question of responsive. At this inspection we found the service had improved and we have rated it as outstanding in responsive and effective making the overall rating outstanding.

The provider is required to have a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. We found there was a registered manager in post and throughout this report we will refer to them as ‘the manager’.

The provider demonstrated how they had achieved outstanding practice, development and improvement at the service. The leadership team sought creative ways to provide a personalised service and had achieved excellent results through exploring best practice and professional support and implementing it to enhance people's lives.

The staff team were highly motivated and were actively involved in and contributed to the continuous improvements in care and support. The provider and manager were dedicated to providing individualised care that met the highest of standards and promoted people’s independence and quality of life.

The manager demonstrated a strong and supportive leadership style, seeking feedback in order to further improve the care and support provided. The manager and staff team used innovative, but safe practices to develop people’s life skills and promote positive behavioural support practices.

Communication with the service was excellent at all levels and encouraged mutual respect between staff and people who used the service. The service was recognised by a scheme which rewards quality in people management called Investors in People.

People received exceptionally effective care. The service worked with external health and social care professionals to provide person-centred, tailored packages of care that had a positive impact on outcomes for people who used the service.

There was a truly holistic approach to assessing, planning and delivering care and support. Each person who used the service had a personal development plan linked to their goals and aspirations.

There was a strong emphasis on eating and drinking well. People were given guidance and support to assist them in making healthy choices and were encouraged to learn how to prepare and cook simple and more complex meals. A particular strength within the service was the way people were supported to develop their numeracy and literacy skills to enable them to manage their money and go out shopping independently. The subsequent increase in daily living skills meant people were eventually able to move on to more independent supported living.

The atmosphere within the service was exceedingly friendly and open. A positive and innovative way of managing risk was discussed and developed with people who used the service. Their goals and ambitions were recognised and valued and people received excellent support to achieve their ambitions.

We found, without exception, that staff went the extra mile to ensure people were safe and happy within their lives. People were at the heart of the service, which was organised to suit their individual needs and aspirations. People’s achievements were notable and people were justifiably proud of what they had done - their self confidence was high and people wanted to share with us what they had achieved.

People were supported by staff that were enthusiastic and keen to see them succeed in life. Staff were also caring, kind and compassionate with people, recognising them as individuals and treating them with respect and dignity.

The provider carried out robust recruitment checks, to ensure they employed suitable people. There were sufficient staff employed to meet people’s needs and people’s medicines were managed safely. Staff had completed relevant training. We found that they received regular supervision, which gave them the support necessary to fulfil their roles effectively.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.