Derby House

Updated 18 October 2019

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.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

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

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We also reviewed notifications we had received from the service. These were notification of incidents or accidents that had occurred at Derby House since our last inspection.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

People were not able to hold full conversations with us during our inspection, therefore we observed care and interactions between staff and people. We did however, have limited conversations with three people who used the service. We spoke with four members of staff as well as the registered manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and medication records. We looked at records relating to staff training and supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

The registered manager sent us further information requested following our inspection, this included details of external agencies the service engaged with. We spoke with three relatives about their experience of the care provided and received feedback from four social care professionals and one health professional who regularly visited the service.

Updated 18 October 2019

About the service

Derby House is a care home which provides personal and nursing care in one adapted building for up to eight people with a learning disability including autism. At the time of our inspection, there were five people living at Derby House.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

People‘s care and support was planned proactively in partnership with them. Staff used individual ways of involving people and people took a key role in the local community and had opportunity to access education and work. People were supported in a way that gave them a fulfilling life and promoted an enhanced sense of well-being. Staff focused on providing person-centred care and relatives and professionals described people’s care in a positive way, telling us people experienced new skills and experiences through the support of staff.

Staff make huge efforts to ensure people had opportunities to take part in activities that reflected their interests and preferences. This included activities on site, such as baking and caring for the in-house pets, as well as off-site which included going abroad on holiday and participating in national projects to promote autism. People were encouraged to participate in local enterprise and where their needs changed staff upskilled themselves in order to help people remain in their home.

People were supported by sufficient numbers of appropriately skilled staff to meet their needs and keep them safe. Staff understood their responsibilities in safeguarding people from abuse and knew how to report any concerns they had.

Risks to people’s safety were identified and action taken to keep people as safe as possible. Accidents and incidents were reviewed and measures implemented to reduce the risk of them happening again.

People lived in a service which was clean and hygienic and staff supported people to access healthcare professionals when they required it as well as receive all the medicines prescribed for them.

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.

People were able to make choices about the food they ate. Each person had a health action plan which detailed their health needs and the support they needed. Staff worked with external organisations and professionals to help provide the most effective care to people. External agencies gave positive feedback about the care and support people received.

Staff were kind, caring and attentive. Staff treated people with respect and maintained their dignity. People were supported to make choices about their care and to maintain relationships with their friends and families.

People, relatives and staff benefited from good leadership provided by the registered manager. Staff said there was a strong team ethos and staff said they received good support from the registered manager and their colleagues.

People who lived at the service, their relatives and other stakeholders had opportunities to give their views. The provider’s quality monitoring systems were effective in ensuring people received good quality care and support.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

At the last inspection we gave the service a rating of Good (published

2 March 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor intelligence 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.