Background to this inspection
Updated
11 May 2018
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check 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 inspection took place on 12 February 2018 and was announced. The registered manager was given 48 hours notice of the inspection because it is a small service and we needed to be sure staff would be available to let us in. The inspection team consisted of three inspectors.
Before the inspection we reviewed information we held about the service including any notifications, (a notification is information about important events which the service is required to send to us by law) and any complaints that we had received. The provider had submitted a Provider Information Return (PIR) before the inspection. A PIR asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and any improvements they plan to make. This enabled us to ensure that we were addressing any potential areas of concern at the inspection.
We spoke briefly with two people who use the service and with one relative. We spent time observing how people were cared for and supported and their interactions with staff to understand their experience of living in the service. We interviewed two members of staff and spoke with the registered manager. We looked at a range of documents including policies and procedures, care records for two people and other documents such as safeguarding, incident and accident records, medicines records and quality assurance information. We reviewed staff information including recruitment, supervision and training information as well as team meeting minutes and we looked at the provider’s management systems.
At the last inspection on 12 August 2015, the home was rated as 'Good' overall.
Updated
11 May 2018
3a The Droveway 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.
3a The Droveway is registered to support up to three people with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder. At the time of the inspection there were two people living at the home. The home provided personal care and support to two men who were in their twenties. The service offered specialist support for people with autism. Both people had associated complex needs, communication and sensory difficulties and behaviour that could be challenging to others. The service had been developed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support guidance and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any other citizen.
At the last inspection on 12 August 2015, the service was rated as good in the areas of Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. The service was rated as requires improvement in the area of Safe but the overall rating for the service was Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the overall rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and on-going monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.
This comprehensive inspection took place on 12 February 2018 and was announced. We gave the registered manager 48 hours notice of the inspection because the home is small and we needed to be sure that there would be someone in when we visited.There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with CQC to manage a service. Like registered 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.
The service had improved and people were receiving their medicines safely. Risks had been identified and there were clear plans in place to guide staff in how to support people safely. Staff understood their responsibilities with regard to safeguarding people. Infection control measures were effective and incidents and accidents were monitored and used to inform improvements. A relative told us that they felt their relation was “definitely safe.”
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. Staff had received the training and support they needed to be effective in their roles. People were supported to have enough to eat and drink and staff ensured people could access the health care services they needed. The premises had been altered to meet the needs of the people living at the home.
Assessments were holistic and supported staff to provide care in a personalised way. Staff knew people well and understood how to communicate with them. People were comfortable in the presence of staff. People were supported to make choices and to express their views. A relative told us that they believed their relation was happy and that staff were kind and caring. Staff treated people with respect and spoke of their achievements with pride and admiration. People’s privacy was respected and staff supported people to be as independent as possible.
Staff were responsive to people’s needs, recognised small changes and understood the importance of maintaining a consistent approach with the people they were supporting. Staff described how maintaining consistency had helped to reduce incidents of behaviour that could be challenging and this had improved the quality of life for people living at the home.
The service was well led and staff spoke positively about the management of the home. A relative told us “I think things have improved 100% since the manager came.” There were effective systems and processes in place to monitor the quality of the service including a complaints system. Further information is in the detailed findings below.