Archived: Kesgrave Bungalow

Updated 3 January 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 checked 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 comprehensive unannounced inspection took place 26 October 2017, and was undertaken by one inspector.

Before our inspection, the 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 also looked at information we held about the service including notifications. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We also reviewed the previous inspection reports and the action plan which the service had supplied following this inspection.

During our inspection, we spent time observing the way that people were being supported by the staff. The people who were using the service could not talk with us, but they were able to communicate with us through their facial expressions, signs and body language.

We also reviewed all other information sent to us from other stakeholders, for example the local authority and members of the public.

During our inspection, we spent time with the two people who were using the service, two care staff, the team leader and the registered manager. We reviewed four care files (those of the two people using the service during our inspection and two other people’s care files), two staff recruitment files and their support records, audits and other records that were held at the service.

Updated 3 January 2018

The inspection took place on 26 October 2017 and was unannounced. The service was previously inspected on 26 September 2016 and was rated as Requires Improvement because of concerns about staff recruitment and quality assurance audits that were identified during that inspection. During this inspection, we found that the service had made sufficient changes for them to rated as Good in all key questions and Good overall.

Kesgrave Bungalow is a short break respite care service that provides support for people with a learning disability. The service has four beds and the length of stay can vary depending on the needs and choices of the people who use the service. At the time of our inspection there were two people using the service.

The service has a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

The team leader is the person who manages the service on a day-to-day basis, supported by the registered manager.

There were systems in place, which provided guidance for staff on how to safeguard the people who used the service from the potential risk of abuse. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities in keeping people safe. There were processes in place to ensure the safety of the people who used the service. These included risk assessments, which identified how the risks to people were minimised. There were sufficient numbers of trained and supported staff to keep people safe and to meet their needs. Where people required assistance to take their medicines there were arrangements in place to provide this support safely.

The registered manager, the team leader and the staff understood their obligations under the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). The registered manager knew how to make a referral if required. People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

Staff were supported in their role and received regular supervision and underwent training , which enabled them to better support the people they worked with.

People were supported to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet, people were given a choice of meals and were encouraged to help preparing the vegetables. They were also supported to maintain good health and access healthcare services.

We saw examples of positive and caring interactions between the staff and people living in the service. The people who were using the service on the evening of our inspection were not able to communicate easily, but they were able to express their views through facial expressions, signs and smiles. The staff knew the people well enough to be able to understand their individual communication methods, understood what they wanted and took action to ensure their decisions were acted on. Staff protected people’s privacy and dignity.

People received care that was personalised and responsive to their needs. The service listened to people’s experiences, concerns and complaints. Staff took steps to investigate complaints and to make any changes needed.

Staff told us that the registered manager and team leader were open, supportive and had good management skills. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of service the organisation offered people.