Sawley

Heathcotes (Sawley) is a residential care home that provides accommodation and personal care support for up to six people between the ages of 18 to 65 with a learning disability and associated conditions. 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. There were six people who used the service at the time of our visit.

At our last inspection on the 20 May 2016 we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the overall rating of good but improvements were needed to ensure all recruitment checks were thoroughly explored. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

The registered manager had overlooked recruitment information received for one staff member. They took immediate action to address this at the time of the inspection. Staff understood how to protect people from harm and their responsibilities to raise concerns and record safety incidents. Risks to people were managed to reduce potential hazards. Enough staff were available to support people. Where people required support to take their medicines; this was provided in a safe way. Staff understood their responsibilities in relation to hygiene and infection control.

People continued to receive effective support. Staff had the knowledge they needed to provide effective care and support was delivered in line with good practice guidance. People’s physical health was monitored and they were supported to access healthcare services. People’s dietary needs and preferences were met. People are 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.

People continued to receive support that was caring by staff who knew them well. People were involved in making decisions about their care and their privacy, dignity and independence was respected and promoted.

People continued to receive support that was responsive to their individual needs. People were consulted regarding their preferences and interests and these were incorporated into their support plan to ensure they were supported to lead the life they wanted to. People were supported to be as independent as they could be and assistive technology and accessible information was in place to support people in achieving this. The support people received was reviewed with them to ensure it remained relevant. People knew how to raise any concerns or complaints, and these were responded to in a timely manner.

The service continued to be well led. The registered manager understood their roles and responsibilities and the staff worked well as a team to enable people to be supported in their preferred way. People, staff and visiting professionals were encouraged to give feedback, and their views were acted on to develop the service. The provider worked in partnership with other agencies and systems were in place to drive ongoing improvements.

Further information is in the detailed findings below

Heathcotes (Sawley) provides accommodation and personal care support for up to six people with a learning disability and autistic spectrum disorders between the ages of 18 to 65. There were six people who used the service at the time of our visit.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Staff understood what constituted abuse or poor practice and systems and processes were in place to protect people from the risk of harm. People were protected against the risk of abuse, as checks were made to confirm staff were of good character and suitable to work in a care environment. Staff knew how to respond to incidents if the registered manager was not in the service. People told us and we saw there were sufficient staff available to support them. Medicines were managed safely and people were supported to take their medicine as needed.

People were treated with dignity and respect and had their choices acted on. The staff worked in partnership with people when supporting them. People confirmed that staff supported them in the way they wanted. Staff knew people’s likes and dislikes and care records reflected how people wanted to be supported and how care was provided.

People were enabled by staff to maintain choice and independence and were supported to develop life skills to enable them to live more independently. People were supported to develop and maintain hobbies and interests within the local community to promote equality and integration.

The staff team actively sought and included people and their representatives in the planning of care. There were processes in place for people to raise any complaints and express their views and opinions about the service provided. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service to enable the registered manager and provider to drive improvement.

During our visit people were seen going out and returning from activities. We saw they looked happy and well cared for.

Two people told us they felt safe living at the home. There were a variety of documents in the foyer to help them if they needed more help or advice.