Bridge House (Somerset)

Updated 10 January 2025

Date of Assessment: 16 January to 14 February 2025. The service is a residential service providing support to adults living with physical disabilities, learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder.

We have assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.

We undertook this assessment due to the age of the rating. At our last inspection the service was rated good, at this assessment the service has remained good.

The service had a learning culture. There were systems in place to review incidents and share any learning at both the location and provider level. People were protected and kept safe. Staff knew people well and understood any risks. Some additional information and control measures were found to be missing from some documentation. This was rectified during the assessment.

There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience. Managers made sure staff received training to maintain high-quality care. We found some areas of medicines management needed to be improved.

The service supported people with their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care. Some improvements were needed to ensure decision specific mental capacity assessments and best interest decisions were in place for all restrictions within the home. People were involved in day to day decisions about their care.

There were systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of care, these had not identified some of the shortfalls we found. Leaders and staff had a shared vision and culture based on listening, learning and trust. Leaders were visible and staff felt supported by them.

Updated 10 January 2025

People and relatives were happy with the care their loved ones received. Comments included, “[Name of person] has a brilliant life, they are happy there, there’s always good interaction. The staff are amazing, I have no complaints”, and “I am happy, they [staff] take good care of [name of person].”

Throughout our visits we observed staff to be kind, caring and they supported people to be as independent as possible. Some people could not directly tell us about their experience. We used observation to assess their experiences of care. This approach showed people were included and listened to and staff consistently interacted positively with them. Relatives told us their loved ones were safe. Comments included, “They [staff] keep [name of person] very safe, they do everything very thoroughly” and “[Name of person] is so well looked after, I have no concerns.”

Care provided in the home was personalised. Staff promoted person centred care to make sure everyone received a level of care to meet their needs and respected their wishes and independence. A visiting professional told us, “Given the diverse and complex nature of [the people living at] Bridge House, the dedication of the team is notable. The people they support are respected and listened to.”

People received care from knowledgeable staff who treated them as individuals. Staff supported people to take positive risks to enable their independence and empowered them to make their own choices using their preferred method of communication. People were supported by staff to take part in and enjoy activities and hobbies within the local community.

Most of the relatives we spoke with felt involved and listened to. One relative told us, “[Name of registered manager] is very good, we get on well, all the seniors are very good there. I can pick up the phone anytime and speak to them.” Another relative said, “Communication with [name of registered manager] is excellent. I receive regular communication from them."