• Care Home
  • Care home

Clervaux Trust

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

11 Abbey Road, Darlington, County Durham, DL3 7RA (01325) 352376

Provided and run by:
Clervaux Trust Limited

All Inspections

14 June 2018

During a routine inspection

This inspection took place on 19 June and 3 July 2018. We initially visited unannounced on 14 June 2018 but found everyone was out so let the provider know we would be inspecting and visited on the evening of 19 June 2018 so people would have had time to get back from the day services they attended. The registered manager's office was based at the provider’s main office Clow Beck Eco Centre (which staff and people who used the service called the farm) and we visited there on 3 July 2018. During the visit to the office we also saw all of the farm, textiles, woodwork, metal work and pottery facilities the people from Clervaux Trust can access.

Clervaux Trust is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support 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 citizen. Clervaux Trust can accommodate up to three people. At the time of the inspection, there were three people using the service. One person needed support to attend to their personal care and another person lacked capacity to make decisions and needed verbal support from staff to assist them to manage their day-to-day activities.

This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

The registered manager had recently left the service and the new manager was in the process of becoming registered with CQC. A registered manager is a person who has registered with CQC to manage the service. Like 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.

We last inspected the service in October 2015 and rated the service as ‘Good’ overall.

Accidents and incidents were appropriately recorded and risk assessments were in place. The manager understood their responsibilities around safeguarding and staff had been trained in safeguarding vulnerable adults.

Staff treated people with dignity and respect and helped to maintain people’s independence by encouraging them to care for themselves. Support plans were in place that recorded people’s plans and wishes for their life.

Care records showed that people’s needs were assessed before they started using the service.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives, and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. We discussed how records could be enhanced to reflect the choices people made. The manager ensured measures were in place to assist staff evidence people’s choices and reflect any ‘best interests’ decisions.

People were protected from the risk of poor nutrition and staff were aware of people’s nutritional needs. Care records contained evidence of people being supported during visits to and from external health care specialists.

Activities were arranged for people who used the service based on their likes and interests and to help meet their social needs. People had access to a wide range of meaningful activities such as farming, animal care, pottery, woodwork, metal work and textile production at the provider’s farm.

Appropriate arrangements were in place for the safe administration and storage of medicines.

There were sufficient numbers of staff on duty to meet the needs of people who used the service. The provider had an effective recruitment and selection procedure in place and carried out relevant vetting checks when they employed staff. Staff were suitably trained and received regular supervisions and appraisals.

The service was clean and suitable for the people who used it, and appropriate health and safety checks had been carried out.

The provider had an effective complaints procedure in place and people who used the service and family members were aware of how to make a complaint.

The provider had an effective quality assurance process in place. People who used the service, family members and staff were regularly consulted about the quality of the service via meetings and surveys.

27/10/2015

During a routine inspection

The inspection took place on 27 October 2015. The inspection was unannounced.

Clervaux Trust , Abbey Road is a residential care home for up to three people based in Darlington, County Durham. The home provides care to people with learning disabilities and autism. It is situated close to the town centre, close to local amenities and transport links. On the day of our inspection there were two people using the service.

The home had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the 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.

We spoke with a range of different staff members; A trustee, the administrator, care staff and senior staff who told us that the registered manager was always available and approachable. Throughout the day we saw one of the people who used the service and staff were comfortable and relaxed with the registered manager and each other. The atmosphere was relaxed and we saw that staff interacted with each other and the people who used the service in a very encouraging, friendly, positive and respectful manner.

From looking at people’s care plans we saw they were written in plain english and in a person centred way and made good use of pictures, personal history and described individuals care, treatment, wellbeing and support needs. These were regularly reviewed and updated by the care staff and the registered manager.

Individual care plans contained risk assessments. These identified risks and described the measures and interventions to be taken to ensure people were protected from the risk of harm. The care records we viewed also showed us that people’s health was monitored and referrals were made to other health care professionals where necessary for example: their GP, mental health team and care manager.

Our observations during the inspection showed us that people who use the service were supported by sufficient numbers of staff to meet their individual needs and wishes.

Staff were attending safeguarding training when we carried out our inspection. When we looked at the staff training records we could see staff were supported and able to maintain and develop their skills through training and development opportunities. The staff we spoke with confirmed they attended a range of learning opportunities. They told us they had regular supervisions with the registered manager, where they had the opportunity to discuss their care practice and identify further mandatory and vocational training needs. We also viewed records that showed us there were robust recruitment processes in place.

We were unable to observe how the service administered medicines on the day of our inspection but we were able to establish how they stored and managed them safely. We looked at how records were kept and spoke with the registered manager about how staff were trained to administer medication and we found that the medication administering process was safe.

During the inspection it was evident that the staff had a good rapport with the people who used the service and we were able to observe the positive interactions that took place. The staff were caring, positive, encouraging and attentive when communicating and supporting people.

People were being encouraged to participate in activities that were educational, personalised and meaningful to them. For example, we saw staff spending time engaging with people on a one to one basis on activities in the service and we saw evidence of other activities such as hobbies and crafts and people were being supported regularly to play an active role in their local community both supported and independently.

We saw that the service focused particularly on supporting the people who use the service to have a healthy organic diet. The daily menu that we saw was devised with the people who used the service and incorporated the Clervaux Trust’s ‘seed 2 table’ ethos where people who used the service were trained togrow, harvest and prepare organic and biodynamic food.

We saw a complaints procedure that was in place and this provided information on the action to take if someone wished to make a complaint and what they should expect to happen next. People also had access to advocacy services and safeguarding contact details if they needed it.

We found that the service had been regularly reviewed through a range of internal and external audits. We saw that action had been taken to improve the service or put right any issues found. We found people who used the service; their representatives were regularly asked for their views at house meetings.

At the time of our inspection there was no one who used the service receiving personal care, but we could see that good care planning was in place and positive independent personal care was promoted.