Background to this inspection
Updated
20 July 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
Care Homes
Pound Farm 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.
Supported Living:
Under the same registration Pound Farm had a supported living home called St Marys Court, [not on the same site as Pound Farm].
This service provides care and support to people living in a ‘supported living’ setting, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support
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 on the 25 June 2019 and announced on the 28 June 2019 to inspect the supported living service St. Mary’s Court.
What we did before the inspection
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
Prior to the inspection we contacted the Local Authority and Healthwatch to see if they had any information to share with the Care Quality Commission [CQC]. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.
We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with five people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager, deputy managers, and support workers.
We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, training records and quality assurance records including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection –
We spoke with two relatives via the telephone to seek their opinions of the service provided.
Updated
20 July 2019
About the service
Pound Farm is a residential care home providing personal care to 15 people with learning disabilities up to aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 15 people. The service also has a supported living service St Marys Court. It provides care to four people with learning disabilities, living in their shared home.
Pound Farm was a large site, bigger than most domestic style properties, 15 people were living there in five flats. This is larger than current best practice guidance. However, the size of the service having a negative impact on people was mitigated by the building design fitting into the local area. Staff were also discouraged from wearing anything that suggested they were care staff when coming and going with people.
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.
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 enjoyed living at the home and were complimentary about staff and the way the home was managed.
People, relatives and staff told us they liked the registered manager regularly and found them approachable and supportive.
Staff understood risks to people’s safety and supported them to stay as safe as possible.
There were enough staff to care for people at times people wanted assistance.
People were supported to have their medicines safely and checks were undertaken to ensure these were administered as prescribed.
The risk of infections and accidental harm was reduced, as staff used the knowledge and equipment provided to do this.
Staff spoke very affectionately about the people they cared for. People were confident to request support and reassurance from staff when they wanted this, and staff took time to provide this in the ways people preferred.
Staff respected people’s rights to make their own decisions about their lives and care. Where people needed support to make some decisions staff assisted them, using people’s preferred ways of communicating.
Staff had received training and developed the skills they needed to care for people, through induction and on-going training. People told us staff knew how to help them and knew what to do if they suspected anyone was at risk of harm.
People had access to other health and social care professionals and staff followed any advice given.
Staff ensured people had opportunities to do things which they enjoyed, and people were supported to keep in touch with others and religious practices that were important to them.
The views of people, relatives and other health and social care professionals were considered when people’s care was assessed, planned and reviewed, so people’s needs continued to be met, and based on people’s preferences.
Procedures were in place to take any learning from complaints and to further improve people’s care.
People’s wishes for their care at the end of their lives had been planned and the views of their relatives considered.
The registered manager and provider checked the quality of the care provided and encouraged suggestions from people and staff to improve people’s care further.
Rating at last inspection (and update).
The last rating for this service was Good in May 2016. Since this rating was awarded the registered provider of the service has changed, we used this information to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection as this was the first inspection under a new provider.