Archived: Deanbrook

Updated 22 May 2018

‘We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the home, and to provide a rating for the home under the Care Act 2014.’

This unannounced comprehensive inspection took place on 4 April 2018. This meant the provider did not know we were coming. One adult social care inspector and an expert-by-experience carried out this inspection. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care home. The expert-by-experience for this inspection had experience in the care and support of people living with learning disabilities who may also have complex care needs. They spent time with people and staff to gain their opinions and views of the home.

Prior to the inspection, we reviewed the information we held about the home. This included previous inspection reports and statutory notifications we had received. A statutory notification contains information about significant events that affect people's safety, which the provider is required to send to us by law.

During the inspection, we spent time with all the people living at the home as well as two relatives; three staff members and the registered manager. We asked the local authority who commissions services from the home for their views on the care and support given.

To help us assess and understand how people's care needs were being met, we reviewed two people’s care records. We looked at the medication administration records and systems for administering people’s medicines. We also looked at records relating to the management of the home: these included three staff recruitment files, training records, and systems for monitoring the quality of the services provided.

We used elements of the short observational framework for inspection tool (SOFI) to help us make judgements about people’s experiences and how well they were being supported. SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experiences people had of the care at the home.

Updated 22 May 2018

This unannounced inspection took place on 4 April 2018. Deanbrook is a small residential ‘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.

Deanbrook is registered to provide personal care and support for up to six people with learning disabilities. Deanbrook does not provide nursing care; people living there would receive nursing care through the local community health teams. At the time of the inspection there were three people living at the home.

At the last inspection, the home was rated Good.

At this inspection, we found the home remained Good.

Why the home is rated good.

A registered manager was in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the home. 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 home is run.

The home continued to provide safe care to people. The registered manager and staff understood their role and responsibilities to keep people safe from harm; protect people from any type of discrimination and ensure people's rights were protected. Staff were available when people needed assistance and had been recruited safely.

The registered manager and staff had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the associated Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Staff demonstrated the principles of the MCA in the way they cared for people. Where people did not have the capacity to make certain decisions the home acted in accordance with legal requirements. Applications for DoLS authorisations had been made to the local authority appropriately.

Care plans were well-organised and contained personalised information about the individual person's needs and wishes. Care planning was reviewed regularly and whenever people's needs changed. People's care plans gave direction and guidance for staff to follow to help ensure people received their care and support in the way they wanted.

Risks in relation to people's care and support were assessed and planned for to minimise the risk of harm. People were protected from the risks associated with unsafe medicine administration because medicines were managed safely.

People were cared for and supported by staff that were kind, caring and treated them with dignity and respect. Some staff had worked at the home for many years. Staff and people knew each other well and we saw kind and friendly interactions between them. People were supported to make choices about how they wished to be cared for and staff supported their independence. Records showed that people were supported to take part in a variety of activities, both in and out of the home.

The home was safe, clean and well maintained and equipment had been serviced regularly to ensure it remained in safe working order.

People’s bedrooms were personalised to reflect people's individual tastes. Staff supported people to keep in touch with family and friends. Relatives told us they were always made welcome and were able to visit at any time.

People benefitted from a home that was well led. Relatives and staff told us the manager was accessible, supportive and had good leadership skills. The home had an effective quality assurance system and shortfalls were identified and addressed.

Further information is in the detailed findings below