Orchid House

Orchid House is a residential care home that was providing personal care and support for six adults with learning disabilities and autism at the time of the inspection. The service is registered to support up to six people and accommodates five people in one building and one person in a self-contained annexe attached to the building.

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

People using the service felt safe. Staff had received training to enable them to recognise signs and symptoms of abuse and they felt confident in how to report these types of concerns. People had risk assessments in place to enable them to be as independent as they could be in a safe manner. There were sufficient staff with the correct skill mix on duty to support people with their required needs and keep them safe. Medicines were managed safely.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff provided them with care in the least restrictive way possible and acted in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service promoted this practice. Staff were supported through training and meetings to maintain their skills and knowledge to support people. People were provided with a varied diet which met their needs and preferences. People attended regular appointments and annual health reviews. Staff worked with other professionals for advice, guidance and support.

People received care and support in a caring environment which promoted their privacy, dignity and independence. The provider took steps to make sure people could be involved in making decisions about their care and support.

People's support was individualised. People were supported to take part in a range of in-house and outdoor activities. People's interests, preferences, likes and dislikes were known to staff. The provider had a complaint process which people were aware of and people felt able to voice any concerns.

People’s relatives and staff felt supported by the registered manager. The provider had systems and processes in place to ensure the quality and safety of service. However, the systems were not always effective resulting in gaps in the records.

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 guidance CQC follows 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. Care provided to people living at Orchid House was person-centred and promoted people’s dignity, privacy, their choices and their independence. People felt empowered due to the strong ethos, positive behaviours and attitudes of the staff team.

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 the service under the previous provider was requires improvement, published on 27 January 2020.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.