Chance Drive

Chance Drive is a residential care home providing care and support to younger adults, people with a diagnosis of learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder and people with a mental health diagnosis. At the time of the inspection seven people were receiving support. The service can support up to eight people.

Chance Drive accommodates people across two independent flats and a communal home with six

bedrooms, each of which has adapted facilities.

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

People told us they felt safe and were now involved in their care. Improvement had been made to assess or mitigate ongoing risks to people. Staff practices had improved to be more person centred. Record keeping around management of incidents had improved though required further improvement. Care plan and risk assessments were updated though the new digital system which was still being developed.

Medicine open dates were not consistently recorded however medicines were administered safely. Infection control practices in relation to COVID-19 were in line with current government guidance.

New systems and processes had been introduced and continued to be developed. Communication with relatives had improved and staff received better support in their roles.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

This service was not always able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of right support, right care, right culture however care was more person centred to promote dignity and human rights. The behaviours of leaders and care staff ensured people using services lead more confident, inclusive and empowered lives than we found during out last inspection.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection (and update)

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 27 August 2021) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements. The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service remains Requires Improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Chance Drive on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to safeguarding, incident management and the management of the home. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service has remained requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvement. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Chance Drive on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will request an action plan for 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 return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Chance Drive is a residential care home providing care and support to younger adults, people with a diagnosis of learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder and people with a mental health diagnosis. At the time of the inspection eight people were receiving support. The service can support up to eight people.

Chance Drive accommodates people across two independent flats and a communal home with six bedrooms, each of which has adapted facilities.

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

People did not always feel safe. Ongoing risks to people had not always been assessed or mitigated. Allegations of abuse had not consistently been reported to local authority safeguarding teams.

Staff practices were not always person centred. There was poor record keeping around management of incidents. Care plans and risk assessments were not always updated.

Where concerns had been raised, these had not always been acted on. People and relatives had not been given the opportunity to provide formal feedback. Incidents had not been notified to CQC in line with legal requirements.

Systems and processes had failed to identified shortfalls we found on inspection. These included safeguarding, risk management and incident management.

There were good infection control practices in relation to COVID-19.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

This service was not always able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. Care was not always person centred to promote dignity and human rights. The behaviours of leaders and care staff did not always ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives. We raised concerns with the operations manager who took immediate actions. Please see safe and well-led sections of the report.

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 14 August 2019).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to safeguarding, incident management and the management of the home. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvement. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Chance Drive on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to discharge our regulatory enforcement functions required to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.

We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment, safeguarding, failure to notify CQC and governance at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.

Follow up

We will request an action plan for 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 return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Chance Drive is a residential care home providing care and support to younger adults, people with a diagnosis of learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder and people with a mental health diagnosis. At the time of the inspection two people were receiving support. The service can support up to eight people.

Chance Drive accommodates people across two independent flats and a communal home with six bedrooms, each of which has adapted facilities.

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. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives.

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

People felt safe and staff had good knowledge of safeguarding processes. There were enough staff to support people safely. Care plan and risk assessments were up to date and reviewed regularly. People received their medicines as expected.

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 treated with kindness and compassion. People’s privacy and dignity was maintained. People were involved in their care planning.

People were encouraged and supported to access the community. Peoples personal preferences were identified in their care plans. People were supported to maintain relationships.

Systems were effective for monitoring the quality and safety of the services provided. There was good involvement with community professionals. Staff knew how to raise concerns.

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.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 14 March 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about ligature risks and insufficient staffing. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe section of this full report.

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.