Cheshire House

Updated 2 December 2020

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.

As part of CQC’s response to the coronavirus pandemic we are conducting a thematic review of infection control and prevention measures in care homes.

The service was selected to take part in this thematic review which is seeking to identify examples of good practice in infection prevention and control.

This inspection took place on 10 November 2020 and was announced.

Updated 2 December 2020

About the service

Cheshire house is a care home providing nursing care for up to eight people with a mental health need and / or a learning disability. Each person has their own self-contained flat and there was a small communal lounge and garden. People received one to one support depending on their assessed need and they shared the support of two waking night staff. At the time of our inspection there were seven people living at the home. The service supported people with complex care needs and associated behavioural issues.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. It is slightly larger than current best practice guidance. However, people have their own individual flats and dedicated 1:1 staff support. This ensures 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. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

The service had improved their rating at the last inspection in 2017 to Outstanding. People and professionals were extremely positive about the service. Improvements in people’s quality of life were evident throughout the inspection.

There was an open and welcoming atmosphere at Cheshire House. People and staff were keen to explain and share their experiences about the service.

Staff were exceptionally kind and caring. They knew people, their needs and how to support them very well, which contributed to the reduction in incidents at the service. People were actively encouraged to share their views and thoughts about their care, support and the goals they wanted to achieve. Various methods of communication were used to support them to voice their opinions.

People were supported and actively encouraged to increase their independence whilst being aware of their own responsibilities in achieving their goals and being safe in the wider community. Positive risk taking was promoted in a supportive and managed way to enable people to move towards their goals in a step by step manner.

People were supported to plan their own weekly activities. A wide range of different activities were in place, including supporting people to access short holidays for the first time in many years and to be involved in local community groups. This promoted people’s confidence, wellbeing and independence.

The provider had adapted parts of the home to meet people’s needs. One person had moved to a ground floor flat with their own entrance in order to reduce their anxieties around meeting other people living at the home. This had greatly reduced the number of incidents involving this person.

The management team had developed an ethos within the staff team of involving people in their care and supporting them to achieve their goals. They had a clear oversight of the service and had developed the staff team to be part of the quality monitoring and care planning through keyworkers, champion roles and workshops to discuss and agree people’s support.

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.

The service applied 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 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.

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 Good (published 1 June 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.