• Care Home
  • Care home

Rusthall Respite

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Middlefield Court, Edward Street, Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells, TN4 8RP 0300 041 5220

Provided and run by:
Kent County Council

Important: The provider of this service changed. See old profile

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 21 July 2022

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.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

One inspector and an Expert by Experience carried out the inspection. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Rusthall Respite is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We telephoned the Registered Manager on the morning of our first inspection day to inform them we would be visiting. This was because the service is only open when people are receiving a respite service. The second inspection date was arranged with the Registered Manager to enable us to return to the service at a time when more people were available and happy to speak with us.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed all information we held about the service. This included information received from our partner agencies and looking at the statutory notifications that had been submitted. Notifications are changes, events and incidents that the service must inform us about.

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. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We communicated with four people who used the service and spoke with nine relatives about their experience of the care provided. Where people were unable to provide verbal feedback, we used different ways of communicating to understand their experience of the service. This included using Makaton and pictures and undertaking observations of their body language and engagement with staff.

We spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager.

We reviewed three people’s care and medicine records and looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. The provider sent us a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including meeting minutes, training data and quality assurance records.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 21 July 2022

About the service

Rusthall Respite is a care home which provides a short breaks service for people living with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, autism and sensory impairments. The service provides accommodation and personal care for up to five people at any one time. At the time of our inspection, the service had 34 people which had/were booked to receive respite services during the year.

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

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.

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.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right support: People enjoyed their short breaks at Rusthall Respite because they were encouraged to learn new skills and do things that were meaningful and excited them. There were always enough staff on duty. Staff worked flexibly to ensure people were supported by suitable staff.

People experienced choice and control over their lives and their individual communication methods were understood. People were supported to maintain good physical and mental health during their stays at the service.

Right care: People were supported by a team of committed, kind and caring staff. Staff skillfully supported people; upholding privacy and dignity as a matter of routine. Staff had a good understanding about how to safeguard people. Risks to the health, safety and well-being were identified and mitigated.

Right culture: The atmosphere in the service was relaxed and friendly with lots of fun and laughter being shared. Positive relationships between people and staff had been developed that were based on trust and respect. People and relatives were confident to raise concerns or suggest changes for the service as well as to the way they received support. Quality assurance processes enabled ongoing improvement. Learning was shared from within and outside the organisation and community contacts were well established.

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 the service under the previous provider was good (published 14 August 2019. The provider changed in April 2020 and the service has not been inspected to provide a rating under the new provider.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection to provide a rating for the service following its re-registration.

We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

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.