Old Station Close

Updated 18 December 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The team consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type

Old Station Close 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 registered manager registered with CQC. This means that the provider is legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. They were at the home at the time of our inspection and we were assisted by them throughout the inspection.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was unannounced. The inspection site visit activity started on 15 November 2019 and ended the same day. We visited the service on 15 November 2019 to see and speak with the people living there.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information and notifications of incidents we received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 spent time observing the care and support being provided throughout the home. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We spoke with six people who lived in the home and one relative. We also spoke with a regional manager the registered manager, a senior support worker and two support staff.

We looked at the care records for two of the people who lived in the service. We also looked at records that related to how the service was managed including staffing rotas, recruitment, training and quality assurance.

After the inspection

We asked the registered manager to send us further documentation following the inspection which included copies of the training records, the staff rota and minutes of meetings for the people who lived in the home, and staff meetings. These were supplied and considered when writing this report.

Updated 18 December 2019

About the service

Old Station Close is a 21-bed residential home providing personal care to 20 people, some with mental health needs and others with a learning disability. The care home supports people in a purpose built property.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

People’s social care and integration in the community had recently been the focus of the newly registered manager. This had concentrated on people’s one to one hours and ensured their opinions and wishes, content and timing were focussed to provide the best outcome for them. This had increased people’s choice and significantly improved their influence on their individual leisure time out of the home. This had a positive effect on people and truly reflected the values of Registering the Right Support. Staff knew people’s individual needs informed by well detailed care and support plans.

Staff had given considerable thought to people’s end of life choices and had recently provided a considered, thoughtful and poignant celebration. There was a complaints process in place which was managed effectively and allowed people to voice their opinion.

Risks had been assessed prior to people moving into the home. Medicines were stored and administered safely, people were supported with their medicines in a safe way. Recruitment checks had been carried out to ensure staff were suitable to work with people at the service. Staffing levels were suitable to provide people with excellent individual support and good overall levels of care.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control over their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. Training for staff was linked to people’s individual support needs. The staff team felt involved in the running of the home and felt supported by the newly registered manager and senior staff. Staff had supervision and spot checks from the management team to ensure they met people’s needs and adhered to the staff training plan. Staff respond to and supported people’s health and care needs.

People were provided with a varied diet which met their individual cultural needs. People were encouraged to develop self-help skills which included catering, budgeting and personal development to enable progression to independent living.

People were fully involved in making decisions about their care and their consent was obtained prior to offering care. People were supported by a staff team who were kind and caring and treated them in a considerate and respectful manner. Staff promoted people’s privacy and dignity.

The systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service being highlighted changes that were required to ensure peoples safety. People’s views of the service were sought through regular meetings and surveys. The registered manager understood their role and responsibilities as a registered person. They worked in partnership with other agencies to ensure people received care and support that was consistent with their assessed needs.

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

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.