An Diadan House

Updated 3 June 2021

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 Care Act 2014.

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:

The inspection was undertaken by two inspectors.

Service and service type:

An Diadan House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. An Diadan House does not provide nursing care.

The current home manager, who joined the service in October 2020, had recently submitted their registered manager application to CQC. Once their application is processed, they along with the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

We announced this inspection the day before our site visit due to the types of behaviour that people might display, to assess risk and ensure the safety of the inspectors.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority. We reviewed statutory notifications submitted by the provider. Statutory notifications contain information providers are required to send to us about significant events that take place within services. We used all of this information to plan our inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service. We observed interactions between people and staff. We also carried out checks of the premises. We spoke with the home manager and three care support workers. We reviewed three people's care records, medicines stock and records and some of the records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection

We spoke with three relatives by telephone about their experiences of the service. We continued to speak with the home manager and seek clarification about the evidence gathered. We also reviewed additional documentation relating to the management of the service.

Updated 3 June 2021

About the service

An Diadan House is a residential care home which can support up to nine people in one adapted building. The service specialises in supporting people with learning disabilities and/or autism. At the time of this inspection there were nine people using the service.

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

People were safe and well looked after by staff. Staff had received training to safeguard people from abuse and knew how and when to report safeguarding concerns if these should arise.

The provider made sure there were enough staff, with the right skills and experience, to support people. They carried out recruitment checks on new staff to make sure they were suitable to support people.

Risks to people had been assessed and plans were in place to manage these in an appropriate way. Staff understood the risks to people and what action to take to make sure these were minimised. This included instances when people displayed behaviour which may have challenged them and/or others.

Health and safety checks were carried out of the premises and equipment at regular intervals. The premises were clean and tidy. Staff followed current practice to reduce infection and hygiene risks at the service. Visitors to the service were given information to help them reduce the risk of catching and spreading infection.

People were supported to take their prescribed medicines.

The provider had arrangements in place to make sure any accidents and incidents were investigated, and people kept involved and informed of the outcome.

Relatives were positive about the service and the outcomes experienced by their family members. Staff knew people well and were enthusiastic about helping people to achieve good outcomes. Relatives and staff said the home manager, was open, approachable and responsive. The home manager was open about when things went wrong and proactive about putting things right.

The home manager encouraged people, relatives and staff to have their say about how the service could improve and acted on this feedback. The home manager had clear priorities for continuously improving the service to enhance the quality of people lives. They had access to resources and support from the provider to make the improvements needed.

There were systems in place to monitor and assess the safety and quality of the service. When issues had been found through checks they had been addressed promptly.

The service worked proactively with other agencies and healthcare professionals. The provider acted on their recommendations to improve the quality and safety of the service for people.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

This service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of right support, right care, right culture. People were supported to have as much choice and control as possible over how their care and support needs were planned and delivered. People were involved in making decisions about how the service was designed and delivered. The provider ensured people’s rights were respected and promoted a culture within the service where people were supported in the least restrictive way as possible.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 29 January 2019).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received from Ofsted about one of the provider's other services regarding unexplained injuries on people using the service and poor joint working with other agencies. We also identified a pattern in the types of notifications CQC received from the provider. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.