Ivers

Updated 26 July 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.

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

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector. Following our inspection, an Expert by Experience telephoned people’s relatives to obtain feedback about the service. 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

Ivers 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. Ivers is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. Ivers also provides a domiciliary care service to people living in the local community. However, at the time of inspection, no one supported by Ivers in the community was receiving regulated activities.

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

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since our last inspection. 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

We spoke with or observed 9 people receiving a service at Ivers. The Expert by Experience contacted 12 relatives by telephone speaking with 8 of them about the service people received. We spoke with 5 staff members including the registered manager and support workers and received email feedback from 7 staff. We looked at 3 people’s care records and 5 staff recruitment records. We reviewed a variety of documents and policies relating to the safe management of the service. We sought feedback from 3 health and social care professionals receiving a response from 1.

Updated 26 July 2023

About the service

Ivers is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to up to 25 people. The service provides support to younger adults who have learning disabilities and / or autism. At the time of our inspection there were 12 people using the service which increased to 13 on our last visit.

The provider was also registered to provide domiciliary care. When we inspected, 4 people living locally received support however no regulated activities were provided to them at this time.

The care home could accommodate 9 people in the main house including the self-contained flat. There were 4 additional bungalows on the same site, each able to accommodate 4 people. At the time of our inspection 1 of these properties was vacant. A person was using a bungalow as an emergency return placement and had their own package of care from a separate service provider.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and 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 supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Support:

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.

Risks had been assessed; however, people were able to take positive risks and lead fulfilling lives. People were kept safe by staff who had been appropriately trained and who were familiar with people’s care plans. There were sufficient staff deployed to meet people’s needs and, while there had been significant reliance on agency staff, this was now decreasing as the provider had recruited new staff and would be fully staffed soon.

Right Care:

Care plans were person-centred, and staff told us they provided clear information about how to support people. Staff had completed training in a range of areas that were specific to the people they supported and responded to situations such as managing seizures or choking according to people’s care plans.

People and their key workers met monthly and completed a ‘wheel of engagement’ meeting. They spoke about progress made towards goals and about their aspirations in life. Positive achievements were also displayed on a blackboard in the main house.

Right Culture:

The registered manager led by example and worked alongside their teams in the care home and bungalows, covering shifts and spending time observing staff and people. There had been several changes to the management team however there was now a more stable team in place providing strong leadership.

We received positive feedback about the leadership of the service. The registered manager was aiming for the service to become more involved in the local community, and had arranged events to include relatives where possible.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 27 April 2022) and there were 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.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 15 March 2022. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve person-centred care and need for consent.

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, effective, and well-led which contain those requirements.

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.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. 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 Ivers on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.