Cranwell Court

Updated 8 June 2021

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.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

This inspection was completed by one inspector.

Service and service type

Cranwell Court 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.

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. We gave the service a short period of notice to ensure that it was safe for us to enter the premises.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We also observed how staff interacted with people who were unable to talk to us about their experiences of living at the service. We spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager, senior support workers and support workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence we found. We reviewed training and quality assurance records.

Updated 8 June 2021

About the service

Cranwell Court is a care home providing personal care to five older and younger adults who may be living with learning disabilities and autism. The service can support up to seven people. People had their own bedrooms and shared facilities such as the kitchen, the garden and lounge areas.

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

People and relatives were positive about the support they received at the service. A relative told us, ‘‘Cranwell Court is exactly the right service for [family member]. The registered manager and the staff team do a fantastic job.’’

People were supported by staff who had good knowledge of safeguarding and how to keep people safe from abuse. Risks to people had been assessed and action were taken to mitigate risks as far as practicable. People received support with their anxieties and behaviours that may challenge others and staff were trained to support people in this area. There were enough suitably trained staff to support people and recruitment checks were completed in line with legislation. Staff supported people safely with their medicines. The service was clean, and staff followed good infection control procedures. Incidents and accidents were reviewed, and actions were taken if there was any area for improvement.

The registered manager promoted a positive culture at the service and staff were supported to empower people to achieve their goals. The registered manager and senior staff completed audits to monitor the quality of the service and acted if improvements were needed. Feedback was collected from people, relatives and the staff team and used to inform what happened at the service. The registered manager and staff team worked well with health professionals and external stakeholders to ensure that people received the correct support.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

This service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. People were kept at the centre of their support and all the decisions made about their care. Staff and managers had a passion for promoting people’s independence. There was a focus on supporting people to live their lives free from restrictions and restrictive practices. People were supported to celebrate their achievements and achieve good outcomes.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 24 May 2019).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to risk management and the way in which staff supported people when they needed support with behaviours that may challenge others. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this report.

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.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Cranwell Court 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.