We carried out a review of the data available to us about Wembdon Rise 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 Wembdon Rise, you can give feedback on this service.
Wembdon Rise is a residential care home consisting of 10 self-contained flats across 3 buildings. The service provides personal care for up to 10 people with a learning disability and/or autistic people. At the time of the inspection 10 people were living at the home. The service is a residential property based within Bridgwater. Local shops, and the town are within a close proximity to the home.
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
The service provided people with care and support in a safe environment. Restrictions placed on people were proportionate to the level of risk. People were supported to make decisions following best practice in decision-making. People had a choice about their living environment and were able to personalise their rooms. The service supported people to have choice, control and independence. People were able to pursue their chosen interests. Staff supported people to achieve their aspirations and goals.
People were supported to access their local community. Staff communicated with people in ways that met their needs. Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcome.
Right Care
People could take part in activities and pursue interests that were tailored to them. Staff promoted equality and diversity in their support for people. People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs. People’s care, treatment and support plans reflected their range of needs and this promoted their wellbeing and enjoyment of life. Staff and people cooperated to assess risks people might face.
Right culture
The provider and the manager had a robust system to monitor the quality of the service. Improvement in areas of risk management had been fully implemented in respect of restrictions and fire safety. Staff turnover had been high, however people were supported by consistent agency staff. Staff understood people well and were responsive to their needs. People and those important to them, were involved in planning their care. Staff evaluated the quality of support provided to people, involving the person, their families and other professionals as appropriate. Staff valued and acted upon people’s views.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at the last inspection
The last rating for the service under a previous provider was good, published on 13 March 2018. This was the first inspection for the service under the new provider (registered 01 December 2020) to rate the service.
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.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
The provider had an outbreak of Covid-19 within in the home. However, at the time of the inspection the outbreak had cleared, and we were assured the provider was keeping people safe. We found the following examples of good practice.
When staff came on shift, they went to an external building to record their temperatures, sanitise their hands and put on their personal protective equipment (PPE), before entering the main building or any of the flats. Staff were not asked to change their clothes when coming on shift but all staff we spoke with confirmed they did not use public transport or car share to come to work, which reduced the risk of cross infection.
Staff had received training in infection control, including how to safely put on and take off PPE such as gloves, aprons, and face coverings. The registered manager also told us they had received additional support and guidance during the outbreak from Public Health England.
We saw staff wearing appropriate PPE and changing their PPE when moving from flat to flat. Due to the recent outbreak the provider had stopped all visitors coming into the home, this was to help prevent the virus spreading. One staff member told us, “We support people to use phones and other technology to keep in touch”.
We reviewed the providers visitor’s policy and the registered manager assured us, prior to the outbreak, and when visitors do visit the home again, they will be asked to wash their hands, wear PPE and maintain social distancing.
The home was made up of 10 flats. During the outbreak people were encouraged to remain in their flats and staff were allocated to individual flats and remained there for the duration of their shift. This made it easier to implement zoning during the outbreak in the home. The registered manager was having regular contact with their GP, Public Health England and the local commissioning team for support during the outbreak in the home.
The provider was not admitting people to the home currently as they had no vacancies. The registered manager told us if they did have vacancies, no one would be admitted without a negative test first and their belongings would go into isolation for 72 hours prior to the person moving in. The provider’s admissions policy confirmed this was the correct process for the home.
The registered manager ensured regular testing was carried out, weekly for staff and monthly for people living in the home, this was in line with Covid-19 testing guidance. At the time of the inspection some people were not being tested, there were best interest decisions in place explaining this. The registered manager told us, and records confirmed, they gained consent from relatives for people who were not able to consent to testing but were being tested. This information was recorded in line with the Mental Capacity Act.