Archived: Fleetwood House

Updated 1 April 2020

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

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Fleetwood 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. The registered manager 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 notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We looked at the information we have received from, and about, this service since the last 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During the inspection we met five people living in Fleetwood House. We also spoke with three members of staff, the registered manager and a representative from the provider organisation. We were able to observe how staff and the people interacted with each other during our visits. We also spoke with a visiting social care professional.

We looked at a selection of records which included;

A sample of three people’s care records.

Quality assurance documents

Medication Administration Records (MARs.)

Compliments and complaints

Incident and Accidents

Following our visit we spoke with relatives of two of the people who lived in the home. We also received feedback from a social care professional who had worked in partnership with service.

Updated 1 April 2020

About the service

Fleetwood House is a residential care home, The home was bigger than most domestic style properties. It was registered for the support of up to 11 people. 11 people were living in the home at the time of our inspection. This is larger than current best practice guidance for people with learning disabilities and/or autism. However. the size of the service having a negative impact on people was mitigated because the home was in keeping with the residential area it was located in. Staff did not wear anything that suggested they were care staff when coming and going with people.

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

People were supported by committed staff who liked and valued them. The staff were kind and respectful. Staff understood how people communicated. Some of the staff team knew people well and people had built strong and warm relationships with these staff. Newer staff were working to build trusting relationships. People were relaxed in the company of staff.

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. Where this posed challenges to the staff they worked with people and other professionals to seek solutions. Staff respected people’s choices and preferences.

The service worked to mitigate the impact on people of group living. Staff worked to apply the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

The outcomes for the people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People’s support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

A number of staffing vacancies had had an impact on people undertaking activities they enjoyed. This was being addressed as new staff developed the knowledge and skills needed to support people safely outside the home. Supporting people to fill their time with things they found enjoyable and/or meaningful was a priority for the staff team.

The staff understood their responsibilities and how to protect people from abuse. Staff understood the risks people faced and the support they needed to reduce these risks.

People had access to healthcare when they needed it. Complex and ongoing health care needs were supported. People were supported to eat and drink safely and their preferences were reflected in the food they shopped for and cooked.

The staff team were well led by a senior team committed to promoting person centred care. There were systems in place, and in development, to monitor standards and plan continual improvements.

Staff felt supported by the management team. All staff shared an ethos of personalised care and support to enable people to live the life they chose to live. Staff were happy in their jobs and wanted to provide the best care they could.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published May 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 any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

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