Background to this inspection
Updated
12 January 2024
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.
Inspection team
The inspection team consisted of 2 inspectors.
Care Homes
Honeysuckle Cottage 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. Honeysuckle Cottage 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 not a registered manager in post. The manager had been in post since July 2022, they were planning to submit an application in October 2023 therefore reducing the number of services the manager is overseeing.
Notice of inspection
The inspection was unannounced.
Inspection activity started on 7th September 2023 and ended on 9th October 2023. We visited the service on 2 occasions.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about 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 1 person who used the service and 1 relative. We observed staff interactions with people in communal areas and the care people received. We spoke with 5 members of staff including a senior and the manager. We reviewed a range of records including 2 people’s care, and medicine records and a variety of records relating to the management of the service including audits, staff files and policies and procedures.
Updated
12 January 2024
About the service
Honeysuckle Cottage is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to up to 4 people. The service provides support to people with learning disabilities and autistic people. At the time of our inspection there were 4 people using the service.
People’s experience of the 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 assessment and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.
Right Support
People were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests. The policies and systems in the service did not support this practice. People’s risk management and care plans were not robust and did not always reflect their current needs. Risks to people from the environment had not been assessed. All radiators in the service were found uncovered. The environment was clean and hygienic.
Right Care
People were supported by staff who knew them well. Medicines were not always managed safely. Medicine records were not clear for staff to follow for time specific medication. Activities were not always tailored to suit the needs of the people. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse. Staff were knowledgeable on how to protect people from abuse.
Right Culture
The manager at the time of the inspection was overseeing multiple services. This led to lack of oversight in relation to the quality assurance and governance systems in place. However, the provider is putting in measures to improve this going forward. Staff told us that the manager was supportive and approachable. Complaints procedures were in place, relatives and staff knew how to make a formal complaint.
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 10th July 2017).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, responsive, and well-led only. For those key question not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Honeysuckle Cottage on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement
We have identified breaches in relation to the management of risks and governance in the service. We have issued warning notices in relation to governance or safe care and treatment.
Follow Up
We will request an action plan from 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 continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.