Archived: Plas Newydd

Updated 6 June 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 23 April 2018 and was unannounced. It was completed by one inspector.

Before our inspection visit, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed information we held about the service in the form of statutory notifications received from the service and any safeguarding or whistleblowing incidents, which may have occurred. A statutory notification is information about important events, which the provider is required to send us by law.

We also contacted the local authority and Healthwatch for any information they had, which would aid our inspection. Local authorities together with other agencies may have responsibility for funding people who used the service and monitoring its quality. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion, which promotes the views and experiences of people who use health and social care services.

We were not able to speak with people who lived at the service in order to obtain their views and experiences of the care they received due to their communication difficulties. We observed people's care and support in the communal areas of the home and how staff interacted with people. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

During our inspection we spoke with two relatives. We spoke with seven staff which included support staff, team leader, the manager and the area manager. We viewed the care records for two people which included care plans, daily support records, medicine records, consent and the assessment of risk. We also looked at records relating to the management of staff and the service.

Updated 6 June 2018

This unannounced inspection took place on 23 April 2018. At our previous inspection in February 2018 we had no concerns in the quality of care and had rated this service as good. At this inspection we found the service being provided was still good. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

Plas Newydd is a care home for a maximum of five people who have a learning disability. It provides a service to younger adults, older people, people learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, people with a physical disability and people with a sensory impairment. At the time of our inspection four people were using the service.

No registered manager was in post at the home at the time of our inspection. 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.

People’s bedrooms are on the ground and first floors of the home, with bathrooms and toilets on both floors. Due to people’s reduced mobility the passenger lift is used to access the first floor rooms.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided and we reviewed both areas during this inspection.

There were systems and processes in place to protect people from harm. Risks to people's health and well-being were identified, planned for and managed. People had their medicines administered safely. There was sufficient suitably trained staff on duty to provide people with safe care and support when they needed it. Where incidents had happened, there was learning from these and this was used to help improve staff practice.

People’s needs were assessed and staff and other healthcare professionals worked together to ensure good outcomes for people. Staff were trained to support people with their individual needs and were supported in their roles. People were supported to maintain good health and had access to health and social care professionals when necessary.

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.

People were supported by staff who treated them with kindness, compassion, respect and dignity. People were supported by staff to express their views where they were able to and have choice over their day to day care.

People received care and support that was centred around them and was individual to their specific needs and preferences. Staff supported people to take part in social activities and lead full and varied lives. Systems were in place which enabled staff to raise concerns on behalf of people. Relatives were able to speak with staff and management about any concerns they had.

The culture of the home was person centred. Staff cared about the people they supported, were knowledgeable about people and they had formed positive relationships with them. The quality and safety of the service was monitored, assessed and when needed, improvements were made.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.