Dimensions 1 Ridgewood Drive

Updated 18 October 2019

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.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type

Dimensions 1 Ridgewood Drive is a ‘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.

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

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection we reviewed the information, we held about the service and the service provider. The registered provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We looked at the notifications we had received for this service. Notifications are information about important events the service is required to send us by law. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During the inspection we observed how staff interacted with people. We spoke with three people who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of care staff, a duty manager and one external healthcare professional. We also spoke with the registered manager following our site visit. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and medicine records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

After the inspection

We continued to seek further information from the provider to inform our judgements. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 18 October 2019

Dimensions 1 Ridgewood Drive, referred to in this report as Ridgewood Drive, is a care home providing personal care to five people living with learning disabilities. The service can support up to five people in one adapted building in a residential area.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

People and relatives spoke highly of the service they received at Ridgewood Drive. The service had strong person-centred values and placed people’s wellbeing at the heart of their work. People received personalised support which met their needs and preferences.

Staff knew people well and worked hard to enable them to share their views, make choices and live active lives as independently as possible. People were fully involved in the planning and delivery of their care.

People’s needs were assessed and care was planned and delivered to meet legislation and good practice guidance. People’s support plans contained personalised information which detailed how they wanted their care to be delivered. Staff worked hard to provide people with varied activities and stimulation that met their interests.

Risks to people’s health, safety and wellbeing were identified, assessed and acted upon. People were protected from potential abuse by staff who had received training and were confident in raising concerns. There was a thorough recruitment process in place that checked potential staff were safe to work with people who may be vulnerable to abuse and avoidable harm.

People received their medicines as prescribed by their doctor and there were processes in place to manage the ordering, storing and disposal of medicines. Incidents and accidents were investigated, and actions were taken to prevent reoccurrence. Ridgewood Drive was clean, welcoming and pleasantly decorated. Staff received training and supervision to meet the needs of the people living in the service.

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 by kind and caring staff who worked hard to promote their wellbeing. Staff were proud to work for the service and treated people with respect and dignity. The service promoted equality and diversity and worked hard to meet all of people’s individual needs.

There was strong leadership at the service. People and staff spoke highly of the registered manager and there was a positive culture at the service with people and staff feeling their voices were listened to.

There were effective quality assurance systems in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service provided.

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 January 2017).

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up:

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