Background to this inspection
Updated
19 October 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 service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection which took place on 31 August 2018. The inspection team consisted of one inspector.
We reviewed the information supplied to us by the provider in their Provider Information Return (PIR). A PIR is information we require providers to send us at least annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed the information we held about the service including statutory notifications that had been submitted. Statutory notifications include information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We also contacted the local authority about information they held about the provider. This helped us to plan our inspection.
During the inspection we met with all the people living at Earlswood House. People living at the home have learning disabilities and are on the autistic disorder spectrum. Verbal communication is not their preferred method of communication, so we spent time observing people’s care in the communal areas of the home. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We spoke with one person, the registered manager, area manager, the team co-ordinator and five members of staff. We looked at three care records and six medicine records. We sampled the provider’s checks and audits to monitor the quality of the service and looked at feedback about the service.
Updated
19 October 2018
We carried out this unannounced inspection on 31 August 2018. Earlswood House is a care home without nursing. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.” Registering the Right Support CQC policy.
Earlswood House accommodates up to eight people in one building. At the time of our inspection seven people lived at the home. At our last inspection on 09 November 2016, we rated the service as ‘Requires improvement’ in the key questions of safe and well-led and ‘Good’ in the key questions of effective, caring and responsive. We rated the service as ‘Requires improvement overall’.
During our most recent inspection we found improvements had been made and we rated the service as ‘Good’.
A registered manager was in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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 service is run.
People were protected from the risk of harm or abuse because staff were aware of the actions they should take to escalate any concerns for people’s safety. Effective systems were in place to assess, monitor and manage people’s known risks. There were sufficient numbers of staff available to meet people’s needs. People received their medicines safely. The home environment was clean and systems were in place to audit infection control practices.
People were supported by staff who had the skills and knowledge to care for people effectively. People were asked for consent before care was provided. Where people’s rights were restricted this had been done lawfully. People received sufficient food and drink. People were supported to access healthcare professionals when required.
People were supported by staff who were kind and caring. People were supported to maintain their independence as much as possible. People were supported to make their own decisions and staff respected their dignity and privacy. Staff understood people’s needs, preferences and communication styles.
People were involved as much as possible in the planning of their care. Staff supported people to follow their interests and hobbies. The provider had a system in place to monitor and manage complaints.
Staff felt supported by the registered manager and were aware of their roles and responsibilities. There was a system in place to monitor the quality of the service provided to people and people had been asked to feedback about the service. The registered manager had submitted notifications to CQC of specific events as required by law