About the service: Kirk House is a care home registered to provide personal care to young adults who live with a physical/sensory disability, learning disability and/or autism. Kirk House is a purpose built home over two floors which can accommodate eleven people. At the time of the inspection there were nine people living at the service. People had access to their own private rooms. The building was being upgraded to enable everyone to have access to a private lounge, bedroom and bathroom.
The service had been developed and designed before the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support had been published. This guidance aims to ensure 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. The service was a large home, bigger than most domestic style properties. This is larger than current best practice guidance. People using the service received planned and co-ordinated bespoke person-centred support that was appropriate and inclusive for them.
People's experience of using this service:
People received personalised care that was exceptionally responsive to their needs. Some people had never lived in a shared care setting and a relative told us, "This was an extraordinary achievement for [family member]." There was strong sense of leadership in the service that was open and inclusive. People raised funds for local charities that supported people living in isolation.
The registered persons had focused on achieving exceptional outcomes for people and their staff. Relatives, professionals and our observations confirmed staff provided exceptional care. A relative summed this up by saying, "We remain delighted at the level of care my [relative] receives at Kirk House."
We found robust systems, processes and practices were followed and sustained effectively to safeguard people from situations in which they may experience harm. Risks to people's safety had been thoroughly assessed, monitored and managed so they were supported to stay safe while their freedom was respected. People were supported creatively to live healthier lives by having on-going support to access suitable healthcare services.
Care staff understood the importance of promoting equality and diversity by supporting people to make choices about their lives. People who used the service were treated with compassion and kindness and their privacy and dignity respected.
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 live data recording systems in the service supported this practice. People and their representatives had been involved in agreeing their care plans and participated in reviews of the care and support provided to them. One person and family members confirmed staff always asked for consent when carrying out care and support tasks. Confidential information was kept private.
Safe recruitment practices were followed. People were supported by a small team of staff that fully understood their needs. Medicine records reviewed confirmed people received these safely. People lived in an environment that was clean and free from the risk of the spread of infection.
Staff received a thorough induction process and had completed all the training required to support people safely. Staff received regular supervision and annual appraisals and were able to reflect on the care and support they delivered. Staff were able to access further training and development opportunities in addition to their mandatory training. Staff were given the support and opportunities to progress within the organisation. People and relatives benefited from a robust data management recording framework that helped care staff to understand their responsibilities so that risks and regulatory requirements were met.
The provider had flexible ways of encouraging regular feedback from people who used the service, relatives, care staff and professionals. Views were gathered through annual surveys, telephone conversations, regular face to face meetings, house (residents) meetings and at staff team meetings. One complaint had been received in the last 12 months and this was responded to appropriately. People were introduced to lay advocates if necessary.
Comprehensive quality checks were available in real time as the provider had a bespoke live data recording system which could review all records and incidents instantly. This made sure people benefited from the service being able to quickly put problems right and to innovate so that people could consistently receive safe care.
Excellent team work was promoted and care staff were supported to speak out if they had any concerns about people not being treated in the right way. Staff were clear about the vision and values of the service.
The registered persons worked in partnership with other agencies and stakeholders like Skills for Care to support the development of joined-up care. More information is available in the full report.
Rating at last inspection:
Good (report published 14 December 2016)
Why we inspected:
This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection when we rated the service as good overall. At this inspection there had been further improvements which resulted in the service being rated outstanding overall.
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.