The Croft

Updated 4 January 2024

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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

The Croft is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. The Croft is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

Inspection activity started on 15 November 2023 and ended on 5 December 2023. We visited the service on 15 November and 5 December 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we had 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 (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

Not all of the people who lived at The Croft were able to fully express their views and experiences, so we observed the care and support they received. We also spoke with 5 family members, the registered manager and the deputy manager, 1 team leader, 2 support workers and an operations manager. We reviewed a range of records relating to the management of the service, including staff recruitment records policies and procedures were also reviewed. This included 2 people's care records and multiple medication records.

Updated 4 January 2024

About the service

The Croft is a residential care home providing personal care for a maximum of 6 people in one purpose-built house. The service provides support for people who live with autism and a learning disability. There were 6 people living at The Croft at the time of the inspection.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

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

Right Support:

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People were supported in a way which mitigated risks to their safety and welfare. They received their medicines safely and in the ways they preferred.

There were enough, safely recruited, staff available to meet people's needs.

There were systems in place to minimise the risk of infection and to learn lessons from accidents and incidents.

Right Care:

Support was person-centred and promoted people’s dignity, privacy and human rights.

People had access to appropriate healthcare services and nutrition to support their health and well-being.

Staff were supported to develop the skills and knowledge they needed to support people effectively.

Right Culture:

The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and staff ensured people who lived at The Croft led confident, inclusive and empowered lives.

There was a culture of continuous learning and development within the service which enabled people to experience meaningful lifestyles.

Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the support and services provided for people and address any shortfalls in a timely way.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 9 March 2022) and there was a continued breach of regulations. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out a focused inspection of this service on 11 January 2022. A continued breach of legal requirements was found. The provider completed an action plan to show what they would do and by when to improve governance.

We undertook this comprehensive inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The Croft on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.