We carried out a review of the data available to us about Home Farm on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Home Farm, you can give feedback on this service.
Home Farm is a residential care home providing personal care and support to two people living with a learning disability at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to six people living with autism or a learning disability. The service provides short stays for people. This may be for respite care or as a transition to more independent living.
The house is in a rural setting on the outskirts of a village that is near to Workington. The house can support up to six people in single rooms. There are suitable shared areas and a pleasant garden that has an area for sport. The house has a small office and a sleeping-in room for staff.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People in the service were safe because staff had a good understanding of how to protect vulnerable people from harm and abuse. Risk management, recruitment and the management of medicines were all managed appropriately. Infection control was in place and the service had been free of Covid-19.
Staff were inducted, trained and supervised. They had accessed training to ensure they could support people. The team worked with other professionals and took their advice about care and support.
People told us they were happy with the food provided and had been encouraged to eat a balanced diet and to start to prepare their own snacks and drinks. They were encouraged to have a healthy lifestyle and were supported to access health care support.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. Staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
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 able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.
Right support:
• Model of care and setting maximises people’s choice, control and independence
Right care:
• Care is person-centred and promotes people’s dignity, privacy and humanrights
Right culture:
• Ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives
We observed caring and respectful interactions between staff and people in the service. People were treated as 'guests' and their care and wellbeing was the primary focus of the team. People were encouraged to be as independent as possible and to make their own decisions about their life choices.
The team helped people to develop their care plans. The plans included all the person's need and their aspirations. People were also encouraged to look at their social, recreational and emotional goals. Staff had supported people during the pandemic so that they could maintain relationships and develop social and recreational skills, despite the lockdown measures.
The service was managed by a suitably qualified and skilled person who was registered with the Care Quality Commission. She was highly motivated, very committed and enthusiastic. The staff were supportive of her and empowered by her leadership.
Quality in the service was monitored internally and externally by senior managers of the provider. The operations manager had started to visit the house again to give the registered manager support and to assess the quality of the service. We saw evidence of audits and staff and service user meetings. Staff supervision, appraisal and training was all up to date. Service users' opinions were routinely sought. Planning was in place for ongoing improvement and development of the service.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
This service was registered with us on 31 October 2019 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
We inspected this service as it had not been rated since registration in October 2019
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.
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.