12 July 2023
During a routine inspection
The care home accommodates 4 people in one building. People have their own bedrooms and bathrooms and there is a communal lounge and dining room. There is a communal garden and parking for people’s cars. The model of care is based on the Rudolf Steiner principles of providing a spiritually oriented community, supporting people with learning disabilities to continually develop, regardless of disability.
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support:
Risks were assessed and measures in place to mitigate risk were documented for staff guidance, where further information was required this was added promptly to further mitigate risk. Medicines were managed safely. Staff understood the signs of abuse and how to report it to protect people. Accidents and incidents were recorded and monitored for trends and patterns.
Staff were recruited safely and there were enough staff to meet people’s holistic needs.
People were protected from the risk of infection, staff had access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and were following the latest government guidance.
People were leading their care and making their own decisions and choices in their day to day care delivery as much as possible, independence was well supported. People were supported by a regular team of staff that knew them well and they were relaxed and comfortable in their company.
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.
Right Care:
Staff received regular training and supervision, they had the skills, knowledge and support to carry out their role effectively.
Initial assessments took place to ensure that the service could meet people’s needs. People and their relatives were involved in care planning and care plans provided staff with information and guidance on how to support people as per their preferences, safely and in a person centred way. Information was provided in formats that met people’s needs such as, pictorial and easy read. People's records were updated following changes in support needs.
There was evidence of partnership working and seeking guidance from other health care professionals to meet people’s needs. The provider and the management and care team had a good understanding of the challenges faced by people with learning disabilities in accessing healthcare services and had measures in place to support people. People were supported to be as independent as possible with eating and drinking, peoples individualised dietary requirements were met.
People’s religion and culture was respected, people chose to take part in celebrating religious festivals and were supported to attend religious services as and when they wished.
Right Culture:
Systems and processes were effective in maintaining oversight of the safety and quality of the service. The provider sought regular feedback and there was an open and transparent culture. People their relatives and staff had the opportunity to share ideas and felt listened to. The provider ensured regular updates about changes in the service via newsletters.
People were empowered to play active parts in the operation of the home and enjoy the local community. People were well supported to develop and maintain relationships and friendships. Activities were person centred and focused on peoples interests and preferences.
The provider invested time and resources into staff development and wellbeing to ensure a good quality service and good outcomes for people.
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 outstanding (published 26 January 2018).
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about restrictions on people using the service. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern.
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 COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Stone Cottage on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.