The Old Vicarage

Updated 29 March 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: One inspector conducted the inspection over one day.

Service and service type: The Old Vicarage is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. 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.

What we did when preparing for and carrying out this inspection:

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about. We contacted the local authority who commission services from the provider. We assessed the information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection, we spoke with two people who used the service. We spoke with two people’s relatives by telephone after the inspection. We observed the support people received from staff when in communal areas. We spoke with three care staff. We spent time with the registered manager and deputy manager during the inspection and with senior managers employed by the provider. We looked at the records held regarding two people’s care and support and we checked how medicines were managed. We also looked at two staff recruitment files and other records to see how the provider monitored the support people received.

We asked the registered manager to send us the homes action plan, so that we could see how the provider monitored the service to drive improvements. This was received in the timescale requested. We reviewed this information as part of the inspection process.

Updated 29 March 2019

About the service: The Old Vicarage provides accommodation for up to nine adults with a learning disability and/or autism. On site there is the main house which has four bedrooms, the bungalow which has three bedrooms and the stables which has two bedrooms. At the time of the inspection eight people were living at The Old Vicarage.

People’s experience of using this service:

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support in the following ways; People were supported to take reasonable risks to enable them opportunities to lead a full life. People made decisions about what they ate and drank. People spent their day as they preferred were supported to take part in social activities of their choice, both in and out of the home to enhance their well-being

Clear plans were in place to promote positive behaviours and safeguard people from injury when they became anxious. Staff understood their responsibilities to safeguard people and were clear on reporting any concerns. People were supported to take their medicines in a safe way. Recruitment checks were undertaken, to determine the suitability of new staff and protect people that used the service. The risk of people acquiring an infection, was minimised as infection control procedures were in place and followed.

People were supported as needed, to ensure their preferences and dietary needs were met. Where people were unable to independently make specific decisions regarding their care; assessments were undertaken to determine the support they needed with these decisions. This ensured people were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and were supported in the least restrictive way possible. People and their representatives were involved in their care to enable them to receive support in their preferred way. Healthcare services were accessible to people with staff support as needed, and they received coordinated support, to ensure their preferences and needs were met.

Information was available in an accessible format to support people’s understanding. People maintained relationships with their family and friends and were encouraged to give their views about the service. This included raising any concerns they had. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and drive improvement.

More information is in the full report below.

Rating at last inspection: Requires Improvement (report published 13 March 2018).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. At this inspection we saw that improvements have been made.

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