Church View

Updated 19 April 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 carried out this inspection.

Service and service type:

Church View is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and personal care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service 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.

Notice of inspection:

The inspection took place on 14 March 2019 and 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, such as potential abuse, information from the public such as share your experience forms, whistle blowing concerns and information shared with us by local commissioners who commission care services at the home. We sent the provider a provider information return (PIR). This is a form which gives them an opportunity to tell us about their service and what they do well. The provider had completed the form in detail and during our inspection we gave the management and staff an opportunity to tell us and show us how the information in the PIR translated into practice.

During our inspection visit, with staff support, we spoke with three people to understand their experience of living at Church View. Staff translated what people said and how they were feeling. Due to people’s needs, we could not have detailed conversations with them, however we saw how people and staff worked with each other to ensure people’s feelings and thoughts were shared and valued.

We spoke with the registered manager, two care staff, a head of care, a quality assurance co-ordinator and an internal health and safety/infection control auditor. Following our inspection visit we spoke with two relatives by telephone to gather their experiences and what the support provided at Church View meant to them and their family.

We reviewed a range of records. For example, we looked at two people's care records, multiple medication records and a range people’s individual communication methods. We also looked at records relating to the management of the home. These included systems for managing any complaints. We looked at the provider’s checks on the quality of care provided that assured them they delivered the best service they could.

Updated 19 April 2019

About the service: Church View is a residential home registered to provide accommodation with personal care for up to six people who have a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder. There were six people living at the home at the time of our visit. Church View is situated within a village.

People living at Church View had multiple and complex physical and learning disabilities. Staff provided extraordinary care by exploring ways to engage people to maximise their full potential.

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:

¿Outcomes for people were consistently better than expected because staff worked tirelessly to make sure, people had opportunities to lead as full a life as possible.

¿ Through people’s own communication strategies, their suggestions and ideas were sought, valued and included to plan their activities. People took responsibility for daily tasks because staff recognised this gave people a sense of ownership and satisfaction.

¿. Staff worked extremely closely with people to learn and improve people’s communications. This was central to help people achieve their full potential which resulted in improvements to people’s health and wellbeing.

¿Staff and relatives spoke overwhelmingly of the positive support, guidance and healthcare interventions people had received. Relatives were full of praise for the staff in terms of their kindness, compassion, patience and abilities. Relatives described the care as exceptional and without compromise.

¿ There was strong evidence that showed what worked well and how continuous improvement enhanced people’s individual skills and personalities. Our observations and how people were around staff, demonstrated they felt safe with everyone at Church View.

¿The provider encouraged and empowered people and staff to have the confidence to suggest innovative and creative solutions to see risks in a positive way, rather than a reason to stop someone doing what they wanted. The registered manager and staff promoted a culture and team spirit to say, ‘anything was possible’.

¿People and relatives were involved in the planning of their care and regular and timely reviews made sure the care continued to meet people’s needs and expectations.

¿People had very good access to internal and external health care professionals when required.

¿Staff training was personalised around the people they supported and was specific to meet people’s needs. Staff were supported by the provider who invested well in their training and valued their feedback.

¿Feedback from people, staff, management and other healthcare professionals demonstrated a strong sense of ‘family’ and a ‘homely feel’.

¿Staff were proud of the work they did and were fully committed to ensuring people were at the centre of everything that took place. Staff responses and how they spoke about people in a caring, gentle and respectful way, showed they cared about them, wanting to do their best for them.

¿The registered manager and staff were constantly researching new ideas to improve people's quality of life and access new communication methods.

¿Assistive and innovative technologies were used creatively to further enhance people’s communication. People's aspirations were explored with them, matched by care plans that focussed more on dreams, goals and objectives.

¿The registered manager and extended management team offered strong leadership. They were committed to continually drive performance and learn from real life situations and CQC inspections. A programme of audits by the provider included internal inspections that reported actions in line with our key lines of enquiries.

¿Staff focussed on delivering the same expected high standards and shared values. The management team told us they saw themselves as an integral part to facilitate improved learning and were proud that other services within the organisation were rated outstanding.

We found the service met the characteristics of an “Outstanding” rating in three areas and “Good” in two areas; For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection: Good. The last report for Church View was published on 19 February 2016.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. The previous ‘good’ service provided to people had been developed and enhanced by a staff team who embraced and sought new techniques. As a result, the rating has changed to Outstanding.

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