Background to this inspection
Updated
26 November 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 completed by one inspector.
Service and service type
65a Newtown 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.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and 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 gave the service short notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be available to support the inspection.
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 and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We looked at two people’s care records. We looked at a range of other records about how the service was managed. We spoke with one person who used the service, the registered manager, deputy manager and two support workers.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We spoke with a relative of a person who uses the service and two support workers. We received feedback from two professionals who have contact with the service.
Updated
26 November 2021
About the service
65a Newtown is a residential care home providing personal care to two people with autism and / or learning disabilities at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to three people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The provider did not have robust contingency plans for providing a safe service when they were short of staff. The contingency plan did not set out any rationale for the assessment that the service was safe with one member of staff in the building.
Staff had a good understanding of the support people needed. Staff were supporting people to do as much for themselves as possible.
People were supported to take any medicines safely and staff sought advice from health services when necessary.
The provider had made changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and there were good infection prevention and control measures in place.
People had been supported to develop detailed support plans, which were person-centred and gave staff clear information on how to meet their needs.
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. Not all key questions were inspected at this time, but the service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture in relation to the Safe and Well-led key questions.
Right support: People and their representatives were involved in the creating support plans and regularly reviewing them. The service supported people to be as independent as possible.
Right care: We did not look at the caring key question at this inspection. However, we did observe some interactions between people and staff. These demonstrated genuine care for people from staff. People appeared comfortable with staff and enjoyed their company.
Right culture: People living at the service were valued for the individuals they were. People were supported to be involved in the daily running of the service and their wider community.
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 25 January 2018).
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part by notification of a specific incident, following which a person using the service died. This incident is subject to further investigation. As a result, this inspection did not examine the circumstances of the incident.
The information CQC received about the incident indicated concerns about staffing levels. This inspection examined those risks.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe section of this full report. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for 65a Newtown on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.