27 June 2023
During a routine inspection
Penrith Drive is a residential care home providing personal care and accommodation for up to 6 people with learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were 5 people using 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.
Right Support
People’s medicines were not always stored, managed and administered safely. Risks associated with people’s physical health was not always monitored. Environmental risks including risks of spreading infectious diseases were not always identified or managed. The registered manager took some immediate action, but further action was required.
People lived in a clean and well-furnished environment. People’s bedrooms were decorated, personalised and met their sensory needs. People were supported by staff who were familiar with their needs. Staff supported people to take part in activities and pursue their interests in their local area. Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community.
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.
Right Care
Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. People had enough to eat and drink and individual dietary needs were met. People received kind and compassionate care. Staff understood and responded to people’s individual needs, and respected their privacy and dignity. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks. People who had individual ways of communicating, using body language, sounds, Makaton (a form of sign language) and pictures could interact comfortably with staff who understood them.
Right Culture
The provider’s oversight monitoring systems and processes were not used effectively to identity and mitigate risks to people.
The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. Staff knew and understood people well and were responsive, supporting their aspirations to live a quality life of their choosing. People were supported by staff who understood best practice in relation supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people. This meant people received compassionate and empowering care that was tailored to their needs. People’s quality of life was enhanced by the service’s culture of inclusivity. People and relatives were confident complaints were taken seriously. People and where appropriate their relatives views were sought through individual discussions and surveys.
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 good (published 27 November 2017). At this inspection we found breaches of regulation in relation to medicines management, risks to people including the environment and infection prevention and control and governance.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection and in part prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
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 have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection. Some action was taken by the registered manager when concerns were raised, but further action was needed to mitigate risks to people’s safety.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Penrith Drive on our website at www.cqc.org.uk
Enforcement
We have identified breaches in relation to medicines management, people’s physical health and mobility, the environment, infection prevention and control and governance.
Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.