Croft Cottage

Updated 8 November 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. 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.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Croft Cottage 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 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

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

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 spoke with three people about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the five staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, a team leader, shift leader and a support worker. The nominated individual was present for feedback. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and their medicine records. We looked at five staff recruitment files, which included three volunteers, and seven staff supervision records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service which included health and safety and auditing records were also reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We spoke with one relative and received written feedback from two other relatives. We sought feedback from health professionals involved with the service.

Updated 8 November 2019

About the service

Croft Cottage is run by the Epilepsy Society. It is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to seven people. At the time of the inspection seven people were living there.

Croft Cottage accommodates seven people in one adapted building. Each person has an en-suite shower and share the communal facilities such as the kitchen, lounge/diner, laundry room and have access to a bathroom. They have an enclosed accessible rear garden.

Services for people with learning disabilities and or autism are supported

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

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

People felt safe and were happy with their care. We observed they had positive relationships with staff which promoted their well-being. Relatives were happy with their family members care. They felt confident they received safe care. Relatives described the staff as exemplary, caring, kind with one relative commenting that “staff treated their family member as family”.

People were provided with information on how to raise concerns. A relative raised a number of issues with us about their experience of their family member’s care which they indicated they had raised with the provider. This was not recorded as a formal complaint. We have made a recommendation for the provider to work in line with best practice and policy in relation to the handling of concerns and complaint. We have referred the concerns raised by the relative to the provider to treat as a formal complaint.

Risks to people were identified and managed, which included infection control risks. Systems were in place to safeguard them. Staff were suitably recruited, and people were supported by a consistent staff team who had a good knowledge of their needs to promote people’s safety. Whilst the agreed staffing levels were maintained the change in people’s needs was having an impact on the availability of staff to support people. The service had responded to the changes in people’s needs and a request for a review of individuals was underway with the funding authority.

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. The service was clean, homely and maintained. People’s health and nutritional needs were identified and met. Staff were suitably inducted, trained and supported to enable them to support people effectively.

People’s privacy, dignity, choices and independence was promoted. They were supported by a staff team who were kind, caring, encouraging and supportive.

Person centred care plans were in place which identified people’s needs including their communication needs. End of life wishes were being explored. Staff were aware of people’s needs and responsive to them. People had access to a programme of activities.

The service was audited and monitored to promote safe practices. Peer audits had commenced. Systems were in place to enable people, staff and relatives to give feedback on the service. Records were suitably maintained. People and staff were happy with the way the service was managed. They told us the management team were accessible, approachable, flexible and responsive. Systems were in place to promote good communication and staff felt they worked well together as a team. Some relatives did not feel the registered manager was approachable, flexible and good communication was not promoted. This was fed back to the registered manager and provider to reflect and act on.

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 31 March 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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

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.