Goldcrest House

Updated 26 February 2021

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 carried out the inspection.

Service and service type

Goldcrest House 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.

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

We gave a short period of notice for the inspection because of the Coronavirus pandemic. We had to arrange safe working procedures for our inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We met briefly with two people who used the service and spoke with three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager, assistant manager, senior care workers, care workers and the activities facilitator.

We walked around the service and observed care and social interactions using infection, prevention and control and socially distanced practices.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and three people’s medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager to validate evidence taken away from the service and sent to us.

Updated 26 February 2021

About the service

Goldcrest House is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to 16 people aged 18-65 living with a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder. At the time of our inspection there were 14 people using the service.

People are accommodated in two adapted buildings which are joined to make one service. The service is within a residential area in the town of Goole and is close to local amenities such as shops and a library. Bedrooms are for single occupancy use and have ensuite facilities.

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

People felt safe and well looked after. Sufficient cleaning took place to keep people safe from the risk of infection. Relatives said they were confident that staff provided good care in a safe way.

People had care plans and risk assessments in place for their support needs. These were reviewed regularly and covered people's health conditions. Families were able to contribute their views on their relative’s care and support. The management team carried out regular checks and analysis of falls and incidents to ensure learning from events was undertaken. This meant risks to people's health and safety were reduced.

People received their medicines on time and when they needed them. Staff had positive links with healthcare professionals which promoted people’s wellbeing.

Staffing levels were consistent, and staff were confident they could meet people’s needs. We observed staff being patient, kind and respectful towards people. Care was person-centred and staff had time to chat with people during the day.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

There was a registered manager in post. They were making positive changes to the service; people, staff and relatives spoke highly of them. There was evidence of good leadership, oversight and management within the service.

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 the Care Quality Commission (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. Although the service is larger (in numbers) than the best practice guidance of six beds or under, the size and design of the premises does not compromise the quality of care, people’s safety or their human rights. People received person-centred care which allowed their dignity and privacy to be maintained.

People could participate in their own local community. They were registered with local health services and had access to the full range of community health services. People could participate in the in-house activities and, when not in a COVID-19 lockdown, people could still take part in the same activities in their chosen community. The care model focused on people’s strengths and promoting what they could do.

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 this service was good (published 11 October 2018).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted due to concerns received about infection control. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

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 coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Goldcrest House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.