Mount View House

Updated 1 February 2023

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

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors.

Service and service type

Mount View House 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. Mount View House 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

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small, and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us. Subsequent inspection visits were unannounced in line with our methodology of inspecting services who support people with learning disabilities and/or autism.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority 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

We spoke with 3 people who used the service and 3 family members. We spoke with 8 staff members. These included 3 support workers, 1 senior support worker, 1 positive behaviour support practitioner, 2 operations directors and the registered manager. We spoke to 3 visiting professionals.

We looked at 2 people’s care records, associated documents, and medicines related documentation. We also looked at records relating to the operation and management of the service. We undertook a tour of the building, observed medicines management practices and their storage, and completed observations of support provided in the communal areas.

Updated 1 February 2023

About the service

Mount View House is a residential care home providing personal care to 8 people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 8 people.

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

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.

Right Support

People's independence was promoted, and staff encouraged people to participate in their care decisions. People's care plans were person centred and reviewed regularly. Risks associated with people's care were assessed to identify how their care could be provided safely and in the least restrictive way. Staff supported people to take part in meaningful activities and pursue their interests. However, the service had struggled with staffing levels and this had impacted the consistency of some people's care and access to the community. We discussed this with the leadership team who evidenced steps taken to promote recruitment and retention of staff. The service was clean, and evidence of ongoing repair was seen. The provider didn’t consistently complete cleaning records, we made a recommendation around this.

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.

Right care

People received kind and supportive care. Staff respected people's privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to people’s individual needs. People had access to health care professionals when they needed them. Medicines were not always recorded accurately; records contained gaps and people's as and when medicines did not always have clear directions. We made a recommendation around this. Following our inspection, the provider shared additional evidence to demonstrate medication recording issues had been addressed with staff, and amendments had been made to improve records.

Right culture

People received good quality care, support and treatment because staff were trained in areas related to their needs and staff received regular supervision from support leaders. Feedback from staff on the culture within the service was mixed. Some staff felt morale was low and others felt it was improving after a period of change. Relatives were generally happy with the support being provided and the outcomes people had achieved. However, some relatives were concerned with the level of community access and use of agency. Positive feedback on partnership working was provided by visiting professionals. Systems were in place to monitor and learn from incidents in the service. Recent audits for medication had not been completed. We made a recommendation around this.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 23 January 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Mount View House 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.