12 Channel Lea

Updated 4 June 2019

The inspection:

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

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type:

12 Channel Lea is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is small, and people and staff are often out. We needed to be sure that they would be in.

What we did:

Providers are required to send us key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections and we used this information to help plan this inspection.

We spoke with two people who lived at the service about their experiences. We also spoke with two relatives and two members of staff as well as the registered manager and the area manager.

We looked at one person’s support plan and health action plan as well as medicines management, meetings minutes, training records, staff supervision and appraisal records, health and safety assessments, audits and accidents and incidents logs.

After the inspection we asked the registered manager to send us some further information about the support plan of one person. This information was received in a timely manner.

Updated 4 June 2019

About the service: 12 Channel Lea supports people with learning disabilities and/or autism. There were three people living at the service when we inspected. The service is based in a residential road in Deal, Kent.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

People’s experience of using this service:

The people living at the service told us that they were happy living there and were positive about the support they received.

People were supported to remain safe. Staff supported people to take their medicines and people received their medicines on time and as prescribed. Staff were recruited safely and had the skills and training they needed to support people.

People were supported to access healthcare service when they needed to do so and there was information for people to take with them if they needed to be admitted to hospital. This information would assist hospital staff to support people whilst they were in hospital.

The staff at the service were caring. People had a good relationship with staff and were happy living at the service. If people needed emotional support this was identified and put in place. Staff respected people’s privacy and people were treated in a dignified manner.

There was information on how to complain available to people if they chose to do so. People had keyworkers who led on their support and gave people the opportunity to feedback on their support and any concerns.

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. 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.

The outcomes for people reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support in the following ways; people were supported to maintain their independence. People told us that they had a say in their support and were able to make choices and decisions whilst living at the service. For example, people planned their own meals and chose what they wanted to eat and when. People also chose their own activities and went out socialising with their friends. Staff respected people’s right to make their own decisions. Most people living at the service were very independent and where able to access the community independently. Where people needed more support, there were sufficient staff at the service to provide this. 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.

There were systems in place to check and maintain the quality of the service to ensure that people received a good standard of care. People knew the registered manager and were able to speak to them if they wanted to do so.

The service continued to meet the characteristics of Good in all areas; more information is in the full report.

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection the service was rated Good (published on 09 November 2016).

Why we inspected:

This was a scheduled inspection based on the pervious rating.

Follow up:

We will visit the service again in the future to check if there are changes to the quality of the service.