The Pines

Updated 27 June 2023

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 was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

The Pines 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. The Pines 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 a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be the registered manager would be available to support our inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was first registered. We sought feedback from the Local Authority and professionals who work with 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

People who used the service were unable to talk with us in detail due to their limited verbal communication needs. We spent time observing interactions with the staff supporting people living there. During our inspection, we spoke with the registered manager and 3 members of staff including the deputy manager, 1 team leader and 1 care worker. We reviewed a range of records. We looked at 2 people's care plans and medicine administration records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were also reviewed, including complaints, compliments, incident records, quality assurance processes and various policies and procedures. Following the site visits, we gained feedback from 4 relatives and 8 healthcare professionals. We also reviewed the training matrix sent to us by the registered manager.

Updated 27 June 2023

About the service

The Pines is a care home without nursing providing accommodation and personal care for people with learning disabilities and/ or autism. The care home accommodates 6 people in one adapted building. At the time of our inspection there were 4 people using the service.

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. We considered this guidance as there were people using the service who have a learning disability and or who are autistic.

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

Right Support: Although there were systems in place to support people and keep them safe, when issues were found, these were not always addressed straight away. Medicines were not stored in a safe way and checks had not identified this. Food items were not stored in the recommended ways for the produce.

Not all staff received the training they needed before starting their role and refresher training was not always completed when required.

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.

Right Care: Care was person-centred and promoted people’s dignity, privacy and human rights. People's dignity was promoted and staff demonstrated knowledge around people's individual communication preferences. Relatives mostly provided positive feedback about the care and support provided.

Right Culture: The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives. Staff knew people well and were responsive to their needs. People were supported to participate in activities and maintain relationships with those who were important to them.

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

This service was registered with us on 02 April 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

The overall rating for the service was requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. 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.

Enforcement and Recommendations

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 monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to the management of medicines, storage of food and drink, safety monitoring and management, infection prevention control and quality assurance systems.

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 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.