Netherlands

Netherlands is a care home situated in the town of Horncastle, Lincolnshire. It can accommodate up to 11 people whose needs are associated with learning disabilities. At the time of this inspection seven people were living at Netherlands.

People’s experience of using this service:

People were safe and well cared for. They were treated with warmth and respect by staff who understood their needs and how they wanted to live their lives.

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.Their rights were upheld; they were supported to make their own decisions wherever they were able to and to express their views about the services they received.

People were involved in planning and reviewing their care and support wherever they were able to be. Risks to their safety and well-being had been identified and plans put in place to minimise the risks.

People received the healthcare they required and they were supported to stay healthy. They were supported with a balanced diet and activities to help maintain their social and emotional well-being.

There were enough staff, who were well trained and supported, to make sure people received the care and support they needed in a personalised manner.

Systems were in place and used effectively to monitor the quality of the services provided for people who lived at Netherlands. The registered manager and staff maintained an open and inclusive approach to people’s care and support.

Rating at last inspection:

Netherlands was last inspected on 14 January 2016 (report published 12 April 2016) and was rated as good overall.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support a rating of good overall.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about Netherlands until we return to visit as per our re inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Netherlands is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 11 people living with a learning disability. There were 11 people living at the service on the day of our inspection.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated

The Care Quality Commission is required by law to monitor how a provider applies the Mental Capacity Act, 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find. DoLS are in place to protect people where they do not have capacity to make decisions and where it is considered necessary to restrict their freedom in some way. This is usually to protect them. The management and staff understood their responsibility and made appropriate referrals for assessment. Two people currently had their freedom restricted under a DoLS authorisation and the registered provider had made a further five applications to the local authority and was waiting on assessments.

People felt safe and were cared for by kind, caring and compassionate staff. People were kept safe because staff undertook appropriate risk assessments for all aspects of their care inside and outside of the service. Care plans were developed to support people’s individual needs. Staff knew what action to take and who to report to if they were concerned about the safety and welfare of the people in their care. People received their prescribed medicine safely from staff that were competent to do so. The registered provider ensured that there were always sufficient numbers of staff on duty to keep people safe.

People were cared for by staff that were supported to undertake training to improve their knowledge and skills to perform their roles and responsibilities. People were given a nutritious and balanced diet and hot and cold drinks and snacks were available between meals. People had their healthcare needs identified and were able to access healthcare professionals such as their GP. Staff knew how to access specialist professional help when needed.

People were at the centre of the caring process and staff acknowledged them as unique individuals. People told us that staff were kind and caring and we saw examples of good care practice. People were always treated with dignity and respect and enabled to follow their hobbies and pastimes and be involved in the local community. People were supported to make decisions about their care and treatment and maintain their independence. People had access to information about how to make a complaint in an easy read format.

The registered provider had robust systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and make improvements. Staff had access to professional development, supervision and feedback on their performance.

We spoke with five people about living at Netherlands. They all said they liked living at Netherlands. One person told us, 'I like it here. I'm going out later '.

We observed a mealtime and saw staff asked people what they wanted and gave assistance where required. Meals were prepared by staff who had been trained in food hygiene.

The environment looked clean and tidy. There was a cleaning schedule in place which was monitored by the manager.

There was an appropriate and safe system in place for the recruitment of staff. We were told by staff we spoke with they felt well supported by the manager.

As well as talking with people who lived at the home, we used a number of different ways to help us to understand people's experiences.

We looked at records including personal care plans. We spoke to the manager and staff who were supporting people and we observed how they provided support. We saw people were enabled to make choices and decisions for themselves, for example, how they spent their day. A person said, 'I can spend time in my room listening to music if I want to.'

We saw people were treated with respect and dignity and had a good rapport with staff. People told us they would feel comfortable to tell staff if they had any problems or complaints and we saw there was information displayed which told them how to do this.

People told us their bedrooms were comfortable. We saw they were individually decorated and furnished to people's own taste and preferences. People told us, 'It's nice here.' Other areas of the home we saw were also clean and tidy.

People felt their needs were being met by the current staffing arrangements in place and they felt safe. They made comments such as, 'I like the staff.'

We were concerned however that staffing levels at night were insufficient to ensure people's safety should they need to be evacuated in an emergency. We told the manager and provider about this and they have since confirmed the action they took to address this matter.